The Cat Exodus?

Guest post from Abba Tudela:

The eccentric Englishman, Christopher Smart (d. 1770) wrote a lengthy ode in praise of his cat, "Jeoffry" [sic].  It was only published in 1939, by the poet W.H. Auden, and was apparently then incorporated in an operetta by Benjamin Britten.   For the full story of Smart, see:  http://bit.ly/RPv6t1

The poem contains the following lines:

"For the Lord commanded Moses concerning the cats at the departure of the Children of Israel from Egypt.

For every family had one cat at least in the bag."

Can Benjamin or any learned reader of his blog give a Jewish source for this assertion?  (Maybe connected to the divine status of the cat in ancient Egypt?)

Finally, mazal-tov to Mr and Mrs Tudela on the brit milah of Tudela #3.  In attendance (among others) were Abba Tudela, Brother Tudela and Uncle Tudela.  Uncle Tudela, having served as Sandek to Benjamin of Tudela himself several decades earlier, was honoured to be the sandek to his son as well.