It is gonna be hard to keep this post short. But, if you are one of those people that like stories of Harry Potter or legends like Merlin & Mythical Gods, keep reading.
According to several sites like www.thingsasian.com and www.chinesezodiac.com , there was a race between the 12 animals in the Chinese Horoscope. The Jade Emperor (Emperor of Heaven) held the race and only required the animals to successfully cross a choppy river with a strong current.
The first to win was the Rat. According to centuries of hearsay, the Rat and the Tiger got along really well. That is, of course, until the race. Same as today, cats and rats do not like water and are not great swimmers. With that said, they conspired to get across the river with out swimming but instead rode on the back of the Ox. The 2 friends bribed the Ox with food and guilt because he was strong and could easily hold them across. “The Ox, being a naïve and good-natured animal” gave them a lift. When the finish line was close enough, the Rat kicked off the Tiger and flailed to shore. The Ox made it to shore in second place while the Tiger came in third.
Needless to say, all cat species (from house cats to tigers) chase all rodent species (from mice to rats) for revenge.
