Venus was, of course, the Roman goddess of love, though it might be more accurate to call her the goddess of erotic love—or maybe just the
goddess of lust. At any rate, paintings and statues of Venus sometimes depict her with a cat, and perhaps the Romans fancied that
Venus was herself somewhat like a cat—cuddly and adorable at times, but aloof at others, and even occasionally fierce and vicious. In short, predictably unpredictable, as love is, and as cats are.
