i keep my knife sharp

Apparently Oscar the cat, whom I wrote about yesterday in the form of a lackluster LOLcat, is quite a sensation, garnering mention on several "reputable" news sites, including the BBC and the Times, and the video treatment on CNN, with "The grim kitty" joining the ranks of such illustrious segments as "Diva takes a dive" and "Whoa! Cow on the lam!". Looking to place this "kitty as harbringer of death" notion in an historical context, I turned to the once-prevalent "myth" that felines are prone to stealing the breath from/murdering infants and small children.

Fig. 1 Infant threated by kitty

In our modern, enlightened age, the idea of the breath-stealing kitty is rather archaic, but could it be that, as infant mortality rates have dropped due to advances in medicine and childcare, these murderous felines have merely found a new target? That precious Oscar is not a harbringer of death, but rather a bringer of death? That our nation's elderly, already faced with such threats as cancer, heart disease, and general ickiness, now must also fear the common housecat?

In conclusion, Grim Kitty would be an awesome name for a band.