Cat Paw Ancestor?

Our cat paw is probably the oddest item found at Joie de Vivre. It's a discontinued Japanese toy which we buy from a man in New Jersey (really!) who has a lot of them in his garage, leftover from his days as owner of the legendary but long gone store, The Last Wound Up. Every time I call to buy more, I'm afraid he will say - oh, they're all gone. (One time he did convince me that he was nearly out of stock, and I bought 20 cases. That lasted us a long long time and I had to store them in my garage at home - our stock room not being large enough to accommodate them all. ) And "what is this?" spoken while looking at or holding the cat paw must be the most frequent question we hear at the store. Anyway, today, while indulging my quaint habit of looking at the Sunday newspaper, I saw a photo and mention of a cat paw letter opener belonging to none other than Charles Dickens, soon to be on display at the New York Public Library. The difference - it's an actual cat paw handle, made from the paw of a beloved (& deceased) cat. And it's engraved "C.D. - In Memory of Bob, 1862." Quite a strange way to honor a pet. And quite possibly, the original cat paw item? The first in a series (?) that led to ours?