A cat, surpassing in beauty, and other therapeutic animals

Abstract

In 1860 the Illustrated London News published an engraving of a male ward in Bethlem Hospital, in which two slightly wary looking whippets or small greyhounds are wandering among the patients, while one of them keeps a watchful eye on a smug cat seated beside the chair of a chess player. At intervals along the walls are birdcages and goldfish bowls, all with their appropriate occupants. Another engraving shows a female ward, where similar cages and bowls can be seen hanging between the windows, though the free-range livestock is absent. Each room is also furnished with a huge aviary reaching from floor to ceiling.