Eel-Cat Thing: Is it really possible?
When the great sporting powers of Vilita & Turori announced they would be combining forces in regional competition beginning in AOCAF XVI, many were shocked, not only by the fact that two leading nations would be re-combining after 15 seasons of competing seperately, but also by the combination of mascots that the two nations presented. Vilita, traditionally represented by the Jungle Cat, a land-based mammal of the feline species and water-shy by nature, combined with Turori, represented by the Eel, an Anguilliform of the fish species typically found near the floor of a body of water, a place that no cat has likely ever tread.
The odd combination quickly brought up the question of whether or not these two animals had, in fact, ever found themselves in contact with one another in nature. Early research provided few clues, but we can reveal for the first time, the answer to this question. Prior to the combination of Cats and Eels on the regional football stage in Atlantian Oceania, only 6 times, 6 times throughout all history, had the two animals ever been combined in any way, shape or form. But were this combinations natural, or manufactured?
Without question, the most famous combination of the Eel and Cat came surprisingly long ago, nearly 400 years, in fact, when one Judith Leyster produced a peculiar painting with oil on a 59x49 panel. This painting was long believed to be the only instance in history where an Eel and Cat were together at once, a fact which is now apparent to be un true. But, were an Eel and a Cat actually together at the time of this painting? Was the painting produced as a result of an actual situation in which a Boy was holding a cat in one arm, and an eel in the opposite hand? Or was the painting purely the obscure fantasy of its artist?
One clue may lie in the Eel, and its relationship with the little girl. In the boys left hand, the Eel appears to be arcing in the direction of the little girl. To maintain such an arc, it is necessary for the Eel to have been depicted as though it were alive. If this was however, a depiction of an actual event, is it unlikely that the girl, no older than 8 years, would have been quite so cheerful and curious with a live, squirming and gooey Eels hovering in the general vacinity of her ear. It is also strange how the girl is not focused either on the Eel or the Cat which is also nearby. These facts seem to indicate, that at least some imagination on the artists part was required in the creation of the painting, and as a result, it is indeterminable whether any portion of the painting is actually a depiction of a real event which saw an Eel and a Cat in the arms of the same holder.
It would be over 370 years before the next depiction of a cat and an Eel would occur. Whether the origins were tribal, religious or simply pleasure related, an image exists where the headdress of an eel is positioned directly beside the headdress of a cat. These masks were created with the purpose of spirit dancing in mind. But, again, there is no way to know whether the inspiration for the creation of the cat and eel masks was physical in nature or fantasical in the mind.
Such is the case with other instances as well, such as the comic book cat who drags an eel behind him on an unknown path, or the childs learning board which depicts both the cat and the eel, describing them with the most succinct of definitions. Though not intended to be read together, seperated by the existence of the dog, the cat and the eel are positioned beside each other on the childs learning board, with the descriptions "Cats have whiskers" and "An eel is a long fish" respectively. The objective was designed to teach children the letters, cat staring with the letter 'C' and eel starting with the letter 'E' in the alphabet.
There is even an instance in which the term 'eel-cat' is used. Eelman Records, a label which produces records of blues recordings to a local island population. While it is not known why the company chose the Eel as their mascot, in a space saving attempt, they chose to additionally trim the word "Eelman" to "Eel" and "Catalog" to "Cat" during the production of their official Eelman Records Catalong, referred to as the 'eel-cat'. While there is no correlation between the two animals in question in this example, it is the only known instance in which the phrase "eel cat" has ever previously been formed.
These, however, only account for 5 of the 6 historical instances in which eel and cat had been previously paired. Recent discoveries in the eel-cat research field have uncovered one more, most amazing image. Unlike all previous images, which depict only illustrations or reproductions of the two unlikely animalia cohorts, this image was in fact a photograph.
A living, breathing cat frozen in time with an eel, presumably just caught, positioned at its left front paw. Further research about the origins of the photograph confirms, with eyewitness testimony, that the cat did in fact interact with the eel, with the cat 'trotting... with (the eel) in (his) mouth'. To date, this is the first and only known instance in history of interaction between a cat and an eel. while obviously rare, fans of Vilita & Turori can take some relief in knowing that their mascot, while improbable, is no longer a complete and total myth as may previously have been assumed.
)
It's RP cutoff time again...