Australia has a love-hate relationship with cats – but under all the emotion is a fascinating history | Jodie Stewart

We got our first feline hero in 1971 when Matthew Flinders’ heartfelt tribute to his pet Trim was discovered In 1872, the city of Melbourne hosted its first cat show one year after London’s Crystal Palace debuted its first show. By 1885, “cats were seldom treated very well” in Australia, according to a writer in the Victorian Almanac that year – but they were pleased to report that Australians were starting to appreciate them more. The colonial newspapers were also beginning to report on a…