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Whenever it rains really hard, my auntie says its 'raining cats and dogs'. I grew up hearing this saying from not only my family, but the elders in my community as well. I never really understood where it came from or why it was used to describe a heavy rain to I did my research and this is what I found.

The metaphor or idiom (whichever you prefer) had several suggested sources ranging from a greek aphorism meaning an 'unlikely occurance', a mythological symbolism for rain (cats) and wind (dogs), to an expression of sensory overload as in the case where the loud sound of the rain caused the ears to hurt, like the loud sound of cats meowing and dogs howling. But the meaning that seemed to have the deepest roots and strongest following was the one that connects the metaphor to a period in time when the streets of 17th & 19th century Britian were so dirty and poorly constructed that many cats and dogs would drown whenever there was a storm. People seeing the corpses floating by would think the animals had falled from the sky.

Further reading gives reference to a poem by Jonathan Swift dating back to 1710 called "A Description of a City Shower " where the author describes a similar scene to that of the rainstorms in England.

"Sweeping from butchers stalls, dung, gut, and blood;

Drowned puppies, sinking sprats, all drenched in mud,

Dead cats, and turnip-tops, come tumbling down the flood."

If nothing less, my findings certainly gave new meaning to an otherwise beautiful rainy day.

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Labels: cat-fabric, conservative, dog-fabric, free-fabric, frugal, novelty-cotton-fabric, raining-cats-and-dogs

The Cat's Meow of Novelty Cat Fabric
We have tons of novelty cotton fabric with a variety of cat fabrics.

We have a fabric for each of your cats nine lives!
There is something to appeal to all cat lovers. From outer space to ringside at sporting events, cats are everywhere at JOFabric.com

With these fabrics you can make pillows and bedspreads. They are also nice for garments and accessories so you can show off how much you love your cats. And if you are a quilter these cat fabrics are also great for making quilts.
Check out the links below for

Novelty Cotton Cat Fabrics