(compiled by Glenda Moore)
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The Cat as a
Soothsayer
- Cats can forecast the weather:
they predict the wind by clawing at carpets and curtains; rain is highly
likely when a cat busily washes its ears.
- In mythology, the cat was
believed to have great influence on the weather. Witches who rode on storms
took the form of cats. The dog, an attendant of the storm king Odin, was a
symbol of wind. Cats came to symbolize down-pouring rain, and dogs to
symbolize strong gusts of wind. This may be where the phrase "it's raining
cats and dogs" originated (see also "Miscellaneous" section
below).
- Some people believed that if a
cat washes its face and paws in the parlor, company's coming.
- If a cat continually looks out
a window on any day, rain is on the way.
- Some cats can predict
earthquakes (actually, there is some truth in this
"folklore").
- When a girl living in the Ozark
Mountains received a proposal of marriage and was uncertain whether to
accept, she folded and placed 3 hairs from a cat's tail into a paper under
her doorstep. The next morning, she would unfold the paper to see if the
hairs had formed themselves into a Y or N before answering her
suitor.
- Sailors used cats to predict
the voyages they were about to embark upon. Loudly mewing cats meant that it
would be a difficult voyage. A playful cat meant that it would be a voyage
with good and gusty winds.
- Some people believe that cats
are able to see the human aura, the energy field that surrounds each of
us.
- Dream of a tortoise shell cat
and you will be lucky in love.
- Dream of a ginger cat and you
will be lucky in money and business.
- Dream of a black and white cat
and you'll have luck with children.
- Dream of a tabby and you will
have luck with your home.
- Dream of a multicolored cat and
you will have luck making friends.
- If early American cats sat with
their backs to the fire, the owners knew it foretold a cold
snap.
- A cat sleeping with all four
paws tucked under means bad weather is coming.
- Some people believe that cats
may be able to see the spectre of death.
- If a cat washes behind its
ears, it will rain (no doubt this superstition began in some very rainy
country!)
- If you find a white hair on a
black cat, you will have good luck.
- One Roman dream interpretation
was that dreaming of being badly scratched by a cat foretold sickness and
trouble.
- French peasants thought that
black cats could find buried treasure, if they followed a specific ritual:
find an intersection where 5 roads connected, then turn the cat loose and
follow him.
- Tortoiseshell cats were
believed to be able to see into the future and could give the gift to a
lucky child in the household.
- Sailors believed that if a cat
licked its fur against the grain it meant a hailstorm was coming; if it
sneezed, rain was on the way; and if it was frisky, the wind would soon
blow.
- Sacred cats kept in a sanctuary
in ancient Egypt were carefully tended by priests who watched them day and
night. The priests interpreted the cat's movements - twitch of a whisker,
yawn, or stretch - into a prediction of an event that would happen in the
future.
- The Pennsylvania Dutch place a
cat in an empty cradle of a newlywed couple. The cat was supposed to grant
their wish for children.
- In Scandinavia, the cat stood
for fertility.
- It was a popular belief that
cats could start storms through magic stored in their tails - so sailors
always made sure that they were well-fed and contented.
- The Hindu believed the cat was
the symbol for childbirth.
Harming a Cat
- If you kick a cat, you will
develop rheumatism in that leg.
- If you are a farmer and kill a
cat, you can expect your cattle to die mysteriously.
- If you drown a cat, you will
fall victim to a drowning.
- Sailors believed that the worst
possible cat-related act, guaranteed to raise a storm and bring bad luck of
all sorts, was to throw the cat overboard.
- Some people who wanted to get
rid of a cat but were afraid of the consequences went so far as to hire
professional feline "hit men."
- To end even one of a cat's 9
lives was to risk being haunted by that particular cat for the rest of the
murderer's life.
Cats and
Luck
- English schoolchildren believed
seeing a white cat on the way to school was sure to bring trouble. To
prevent the bad luck, they were to spit or turn around completely and make
the sign of the cross.
- Charles I, king of England,
owned a black cat that he felt brought him luck. He was so afraid of losing
it that he had it guarded day and night. As it happened, the day after the
cat died, he was arrested.
- A cat sneezing is a good omen
for everyone who hears it.
- Dreaming of a cat is sometimes
regarded as a sign of bad luck in the future. On the other hand, American
folklore has it that dreaming of a white cat is good luck.
- In France, it is believed that
if you find one white hair on a black cat, Lady Luck will smile upon
you.
- In Yorkshire, England, while it
is lucky to own a black cat, it is extremely unlucky to come across one
accidentally.
- In the early 16th century, a
visitor to an English home would always kiss the family cat to bring good
luck.
- In the Dark Ages, a cat was
mortared, while still alive, into the foundation of a building to ensure
good luck to the inhabitants.
- Fishermen's wives kept a black
cat at home to prevent disaster at sea.
Meeting a Cat
- If a cat ran ahead of a sailor
to the pier, it was believed that would bring good luck; if the cat crossed
his path, it would bring bad luck.
- Cats were often kept on board
ships to bring good luck. If a sailor was approached by the ship's cat it
meant good luck, but if the cat only came halfway, it meant bad luck would
befall the sailor.
- It is bad luck to see a white
cat at night.
- In Ireland, having your moonlit
path crossed by a black cat was thought to foretell death in an
epidemic.
- In France, there is a
superstition that it is bad luck to cross a stream carrying a
cat.
- When you see a one-eyed cat,
spit on your thumb, stamp it in the middle of your palm, and make a wish.
The wish will come true.
- In Normandy, seeing a
tortoiseshell cat foretold death by accident.
Cats and the Sick,
Dying, and Dead
- At one time, people believed
that fur and blood drawn from various parts of the cat's anatomy cured all
ailments.
- Early American colonists
believed that a broth made from boiling a black cat would cure tuberculosis,
but no one wanted to risk the bad luck that would befall them if they killed
the cat.
- A common folk cure for a stye
on the eyelid was to rub it with the tail of a black cat.
- In Transylvania, if a cat jumps
over a corpse, the corpse will become a vampire.
- Early Christians believed that
if a cat sat on a grave, the buried person's soul was in the devil's power.
Another belief was that if two cats were seen fighting near a dying person,
or on the grave shortly after a funeral, the creatures are really the Devil
and an Angel fighting for possession of the soul.
- In 16th century Italy, people
believed that if a black cat lay on the bed of a sick man, he would die.
However, they also believed that a cat will not remain in the house where
someone is about to die - if the family cat refused to stay indoors, this
was a bad omen.
- Immigrants from Scotland
believed that if a cat entered a room where a dead body was in state, the
next person to touch the cat would be blinded. Therefore, the cat in such
situations was immediately killed.
- If a funeral procession
encountered a black cat, they believed another member of the family would
soon die.
- The folklore that a cat has 9
lives possibly came about because #9 is the "trinity of trinities" and was
considered lucky.
- A cat has 9 lives. For 3 he
plays, for 3 he strays, and for the last 3 he stays. (an American and
English proverb)

Cats and the
Afterlife
- In Japan, there is a myth that
cats turn into super spirits when they die. According to the Buddhist
religion, the body of the cat is the temporary resting place of the soul of
very spiritual people.
- Some people believe that cats
engage in astral travel even in life. They also believe that if a cat adopts
you, it will stay with you forever, even after death.
Cats as Sacred
Beings
- King Osorkon, of the
twenty-second dynasty, placed a white cat in the center of a magnificent
temple and ritually endowed it with supreme power.
- During excavations in the ruins
of Tell-Basta (the former Bubastis), a graveyard with 300,000 mummified holy
cats was discovered. Though many were sent to England and sold as
fertilizer, a few were sent to museums.
- Mohammed cut off the sleeve of
his robe rather than disturb his cat from resting on it.
- A Thai legend tells of cats
that guarded a temple from Burmese invaders. They saved the temple treasure,
a golden goblet belonging to the Buddha, by hooking their tails around it
and not letting go. This accounts for the kink at the end of the tail of
almost all Thai cats. Anther story is that when a certain princess went to
bathe and gave her rings to a cat to guard, it kinked its tail so they
wouldn't fall off.
- For information about the
feline-headed goddess Bast, please visit Per-Bast.org.
Cats and
Witches
- Norse legend tells of Freya,
goddess of love and fertility, whose chariot was pulled by two black cats.
Some versions of the tale claim they became swift black horses, possessed by
the Devil. After serving Freya for 7 years, the cats were rewarded by being
turned into witches, disguised as black cats.
- Traits associated with cats
include cleverness, unpredictability, healing and witchcraft, since in
ancient times it was believed that witches took the form of their cats at
night.
- Folklore has it that if a witch
becomes human, her black cat will no longer reside in her
house.
It was largely
in the Middle Ages that the black cat became affiliated with evil. Because
cats are nocturnal and roam at night, they were believed to be supernatural
servants of witches, or even witches themselves. Partly because of the cat's
sleek movements and eyes that 'glow' at night, they became the embodiment of
darkness, mystery, and evil, possessing frightening powers. If a black cat
walked into the room of an ill person, and the person later died, it was
blamed on the cat's supernatural powers. If a black cat crossed a person's
path without harming them, this indicated that the person was then protected
by the devil. Often times, a cat would find shelter with older women who
were living in solitude. The cat became a source of comfort and
companionship, and the old woman would curse anyone who mistreated it. If
one of these tormentors became ill, the witch and her familiar were
blamed.
Miscellaneous
- In the 1500's, houses had
thatched roofs - thick straw, piled high, with no wood underneath. It was
the only place for animals to get warm, so all the pets... dogs, cats and
other small animals, mice, rats, bugs lived in the roof. When it
rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off
the roof. Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs." (Related bit
of trivia: There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.
This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other
droppings could really mess up your nice clean bed. So, they
found if they made beds with big posts and hung a sheet over the top,
it addressed that problem. Hence those beautiful big 4 poster beds
with canopies.)
- In ancent times, a criminal's
punishment sometimes including have his tonque cut out; the tonque was fed
to the King's pets. Hence, there is some historical truth to the phrase "cat
got your tongue?".
- Domesticated cats are not
mentioned in the Bible.
- According to legend, the 'M'
marking on the forehead of the tabby cat was created by the prophet Mahomet
as he rested his hand lightly on the brow of his favorite cat.
- An American superstition: When
moving to a new home, put the cat in through the window, not the door, so
that it will not leave.
- According to legend, cats were
created when Noah's ark became infested with rats. Noah commanded the
lion to sneeze and out came a cat!
    
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