Cats have played a significant role in ancient Egyptian society, where they were highly valued for their ability to keep homes free from rats and venomous snakes. In fact, families would even give their cats names and adorn them with jeweled collars. Interestingly, the word “cat” itself can be traced back to Egypt. The African word “quattah” served as the inspiration for the word “cat” in many European languages, such as the Spanish word “gato” and the French word “chat.” This linguistic connection arose because the Egyptians strictly prohibited the export of their cats, although some Greeks managed to smuggle a few out to sell to other countries.
In the town of Talkeetna, Alaska, a cat named Stubbs held the honorary position of mayor for an impressive 20 years. This unique role highlights the special place that cats hold in our lives. Perhaps if more towns followed suit, the world would be a better place, albeit with a few more scratch-poles scattered around. With the increasing number of people working from home, it’s not uncommon to see their feline companions making appearances during virtual meetings. Cats have a knack for choosing the perfect moment to sit on keyboards or show their behinds to meeting participants. It’s as if they want to assert their ownership over their humans and remind everyone that the person you’re talking to is “theirs.” After all, humans are merely borrowing their time and must fulfill their most important duty: worshipping the cat and, of course, feeding them.
This brings us to an interesting topic: Value Added Tax (VAT) on animal food. In many countries, animal food may be subject to a reduced VAT rate. However, determining what qualifies as animal foodstuff can sometimes be challenging. Distinctions are made between food for animals, pet food, and food for working animals, each with its own set of conditions and VAT rates. Similar discussions are also taking place regarding food for human consumption. In the Netherlands, for example, there were debates about applying a VAT zero-rate to “fresh fruit and vegetables.” However, a study revealed that it was too difficult to define which products would meet the criteria of being “fresh and unprocessed.”
In the midst of these discussions, it’s worth taking a moment to follow our cats’ advice: stretch! Just like a cat scratching a pole, it’s essential to stretch and move around instead of remaining seated behind a desk all day. Of course, this advice may not apply when you’re engrossed in reading the articles on our website, as that’s always time well spent!
If you have any comments, questions, or ideas to share, we encourage you to reach out to us via email at [email protected] or leave a comment on our LinkedIn posts. We value your input and strive to provide relevant and engaging content to our readers.
To explore news specific to your region of interest, you can follow the links below:
WORLD
WEBINARS / EVENTS
AFRICA
EGYPT
GHANA
NIGERIA
SOUTH AFRICA
UGANDA
AMERICAS
BOLIVIA
BRAZIL
CANADA
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
SURINAME
UNITED STATES
ASIA PACIFIC
AUSTRALIA
BANGLADESH
CAMBODIA
CHINA
FIJI
INDIA
KAZAKHSTAN
MALAYSIA
NEPAL
NEW ZEALAND
PAKISTAN
PHILIPPINES
SINGAPORE
SOUTH KOREA
SRI LANKA
TAIWAN
THAILAND
VIETNAM
EUROPE
EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE
EUROPEAN UNION
AUSTRIA
BELGIUM
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
CROATIA
CZECH REPUBLIC
DENMARK
ESTONIA
FINLAND
FRANCE
GERMANY
GREECE
HUNGARY
IRELAND
ITALY
LIECHTENSTEIN
LITHUANIA
MALTA
MOLDOVA
NETHERLANDS
POLAND
ROMANIA
RUSSIA
SERBIA
SLOVAKIA
SPAIN
SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND
UKRAINE
UNITED KINGDOM
MIDDLE EAST
KUWAIT
LEBANON
MIDDLE EAST
OMAN
QATAR
SAUDI ARABIA
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES