| Black Cats In the Middle Ages, cats were not very popular because of their association with witchcraft and black magic. Superstitions about cats, some | |
of them current today, date back to this period. Fisherman’s wives believed keeping a black cat in your home meant your husband would always return from the sea. In the 9th century, King Henry I of Saxony decreed that the fine for killing a cat should be sixty bushels of corn.
There are still people who believe that the cat is a reincarnation of the devil and regard it as bad luck.
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| Egyptian Cats Around 450 BC, anyone who killed a cat in Egypt was punished by death. When a cat died, the entire family would shave off their eyebrows as a sign of mourning. “The male cat is Ra himself, and he was called Mau because of the speech of the god Sa, who said concerning him: ` He is like |
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| unto that which he hath made, therefore did the name of Ra become Mau.’” - papyrus from the XV111 Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, c.1500 BC Facts & Legends. |
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| Norse Cats In Norse mythological facts, the chariot of Freya, goddess of beauty, love and fertility, is drawn by two large longhaired cats; these two cats were often connected with the |
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| powers of creativity, the Earth Mother and fertility gods. |
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| Japanese Cats Mi-Ki, or tri-colored cats, have been long taken by Japanese sailors on their ships to bring them good luck. The native Bobtail, according to legend, is the Japanese cat of preference because it is less likely to “bewitch” you with a twitching tail. |
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| The figure of a cat with its left paw raised is commonly seen in gift shops in Japan where they are sold as souvenirs. It is believed that the beckoning cat brings good fortune to its owner. |
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| Pussy Willows There is a legend that many little kittens were thrown into a river to drown. The mother cat wept and was so distraught that the willow trees on the bank felt compassion and held out their branches to the struggling kittens who clung to them and were saved. Ever since that time, every |
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| spring, the willow trees wear gray buds that feel as soft and silky as kitten tails. That is why they are called “pussy willows.” |
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| Chinese Cats Ancient Chinese legend maintains that the cat is the product of a lioness and a monkey - the lioness endowing her offspring with dignity and the monkey with curiosity and playfulness. |
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| The Prophet Mohammed The Prophet Mohammed, the founder of the Moslem religion, believed dogs were unclean, but loved cats so much that he once cut the sleeve from his robe to avoid disturbing his cat which had gone to sleep in his arms. According to legend, the “M” marking on the forehead of the tabby cat was created by the Prophet Mohammed when he rested his hand on the brow of his favorite cat. |
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| Irish Cats Poem Legend of the Kilkenny Cats (a testimony to the determination of a cat) There once was two cats of Kilkenny, And each thought there was one cat too many; So they quarreled and fought, And they scratched and they bit, Until there was only their nails, And the tips of their tails, Instead of two cats, there weren’t any. |
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Bohemian Cats In what was known as Bohemia, now western Czechoslovakia, the cat was regarded as a symbol of fertility.
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