The twelve Animal Signs

for Women

Rabbit (Cat) woman
Her physical background

The typical Cat woman is hardly noted for her beauty; but no one could remain indifferent to her distinction and quiet charm. There is always a melancholic look about her as if she were in perpetual mourning, and her wistfulness is probably her best weapon of seduction.

Meticulous about her physical appearance as about everything else, she attaches paramount importance to what she believes to be the essence of self-respect. It is difficult for her to accept the idea that people could see her otherwise than well-groomed from top to toe. She is impeccably dressed at all times, her attire bearing witness to her good taste, discretion, and concern for propriety. This is a woman who may spend hours at her toilet every day and who is prepared to endure severe food privations in order to stay slender as long as possible. She can never take it easy as far as neatness is concerned.

The Cat-born female is possessed of a doll's face framed in a perfect oval. She has unusually fine features, a smooth forehead, a straight nose, a small mouth bordered with thin lips, and pearly teeth. Her eyes are big, soft and humid; it is with such eyes that she fascinates her interlocutors just as a snake does a shrew. Her complexion is creamy, making an elegant contrast with her ever pink cheekbones.

She is in general slightly shorter than the average. Her slim body will not begin to slacken before she reaches her sixties - unless she is persistently careless about her diet, a practically impossible eventuality. But somehow she does not feel much at ease with her sylphlike figure - probably out of perfectionism - and often displays clumsiness like an adolescent. Her comportment is clearly modest, unassuming despite her superior physique; it is here that she totally differs from her Dragon sister whose behavior is extravagant and willfully provocative.

One trait to be noted: Many natives of the Cat sign are endowed with a callipygian anatomy, and they look wonderful when wearing tight slacks.

With regard to health, the Cat woman is first of all subject to a number of gynecological troubles which usually begin at the outset of her adolescence and end around her menopause. They may range from leucorrhoea to irregular, painful menstrual periods, from vaginismus to mammary or ovarian cysts. It seems that her specifically feminine problems are accounted for by a faulty endocrinal system, but in any case not by psychological factors. In some instances a hysterectomy proves necessary, and can put a definite end to these miseries of hers.

Like her masculine counterpart, she suffers almost permanently from the dysfunction of her entire digestive track. If she gets out of a gastritis, it is often only to take on a colitis, an enteritis, or a liverish attack. While constipation haunts her nearly without respite, she would be unwise to try to cope with it by absorbing large quantities of cellulose food or bran - her bowels are too sensitive to endure such a treatment. Yogurt, dried plums, grape juice, and chicory tea are quite apt to relieve her without causing undesirable side-effects. If necessary she can take two spoonfuls of mineral oil every day. She must prefer cooked to raw vegetables and fruits. She must on the other hand avoid all nutriments that are difficult to digest such as fats, fatty meats, starchy or high-fermentation aliments. Japanese cookery, light and refined, seems to suit her quite well. Drinking at least four pints of water per day can do her lots of good.

She may not want to admit it, but her nervous system is decidedly oversensitive, and she has to reckon with it if she does not want to be bogged down by avoidable miseries.

While the advice on health she gives others is generally sound, she herself is reluctant to accept her inborn frailty and live with it accordingly. Perfectionist and conscientious to a fault, she often subjects her organism to unbearable pressure by pursuing her projects to the bitter end or bustling about until complete exhaustion. After a hard day's work, for instance, she would not hesitate, on returning home, to tackle other works in earnest, for she refutes to see that everything is not in its place or that everything is not impeccably clean. It is hard for her to stop and take some rest so long as what she is doing is not completely finished. It is why she often works extra hours, even though she is not paid for them or already feels extremely tired. Her confidence in her resistance and capacity for recuperation is obviously exaggerated; she is prone to ignore her limits and always hopes piously that everything will turn out as she wishes.

The bits of advice given to the man of the sign are equally valid for her. She must make use of her common sense by never giving herself too heavy a burden to carry. She must also take her ailments seriously - though not to the point of obsession - and have them treated by competent specialists.

She would need a gynecologist in whom she can have absolute confidence and who is willing to lend an attentive and sympathetic ear to her description of all her symptoms. It may be equally profitable for her to have recourse to one or more "mild" therapies - homeopathy, acupuncture, osteopathy, physiotherapy, sympathicotherapy, crenotherapy, chiropractic, and the like. In general, allopathy and any shock treatment should be resorted to only with much caution.

Since a judicious regulation of her energy is an indispensable condition for her well-being, the native should practice assiduously such sports as swimming and hiking. Yoga and other relaxation techniques are also highly useful.

There is no originality in saying that it is better to prevent than to treat diseases. Yet the Cat woman would need this simple truth to be driven home - repeatedly.