Charlie, the way I heard it was the other way around,; that the dynastic emperors were both filled with a sense of regal entitlement, and a great love of felines. They would appropriate them from whomever and whereevert they wished.
Lowly peasents, who counted on the felines for rodent control would ask each other the lamenting question," Tungs got your cat?".
The pluralization was deleted through sloppy translation. Sic Semper Tyranus
There was a similar problem during the feudal period in Northern Europe. In response to the generally sucky conditions of life in the dark ages, some in the lower classes wanted to advance themselves. The royals had a natural aversion to mingleing with the lowere classes. Serfs were typically even filthier than the upper crust. In order to appear somewhat benevelant the royals devised an almost impassable test.
The candidate for peerage was put into a pit with a wild bear and a huge hunting dog and abandoned for the evening. The dog and bear were raised together, would get on famously, and frequently killed the candidate as a team. You would really have to be the life of that party to win them over. If the candidate survived till the next day, he would be proclaimed a knight and thus on the road to upper society. Most candidates were decapitated with a single ursine paw swipe.
The practice was too effective. Some royals realized inbreeding and courtly murder would deplete their regal numbers over time, and that new blood was, in fact, needed.
In a reversal of thinking, they began to encourage participants,; but the awful nature of the trial still kept applicants few and far between. The royals tried to improve partcipation by offering a "consolation prize" for the families of the now dead losers. They would award a puppy from the litter of the hound to the family of the deceased, and so make villagers feel better about entering. The reasoning appeared to be that,"For the mourning after a bad knight, nothing beats the dog of the bear that hit you."