Myths and Legends About Cats

carry and stack as many coconut tree trunks as the cat had hairs (Deguara).

Japan has its own legend regarding cats. In Japan lies the legend of the Beckoning Cat (Deguara). Long ago this cat would stand at the door of the Gotoku-ji Temple and would raise her paw in the traditional Japanese beckoning wave to a feudal lord who was passing by. It is stated that “the feudal lord followed the cat into the temple and instantly, a lightning bolt struck the place where the lord had been standing. Thus the cat saved his life.” After that incident the Beckoning Cat was considered to be the Goddess of Mercy reincarnated. Today the Gotoku-ji Temple contains dozens of statues of the Beckoning Cat. Owners of sick or lost cats go to this temple and place up player boards with the image of the Beckoning Cat. Different color Beckoning Cats are believed to bring about certain things. A black Beckoning Cat is said to bring health, and the rare gold ones are said to bring in riches. Gold Beckoning Cats are often sold as money boxes and in a house are believed to “beckon in good friends” (Deguara).

The Bible tells of the story of Noah’s Ark and in this story there are a couple of legends of how cats were created on the ark. One of these legends states that

“Noah took pairs of rats and mice too. However, the rodents multiplied very quickly and the Ark was, after a while, infested by rodents. Noah consulted the lion, who as king of the best may have known a solution. The lion sneezed and from his nostrils, a pair of readymade domestic cats came out, who instantly set down to work, having a natural instinct for being ‘germinators’” (Deguara).

Another legend states that the mouse was the Devil’s work and was set out to destroy the Ark but God had created the cat. God’s cat killed the mouse, saving the Ark (Deguara).

There are many superstitions surrounding the cat. For example, in many parts of the world, when a black crosses your path something bad is believed to soon happen to you and your family (eSSORTMENT). However, in England the bad luck can be canceled by simply spiting on the ground immediately. It is also said that if a cat leaves a person’s home while they are sick and do not come back, that person will soon die. A somewhat strange tradition that was performed in the days of sailing vessels when sailors always took a cat on board was that when there was no wind to fill the sails, they would lock the cat in the cupboard. This would bring the wind to push the sails. Another superstition that is believed is that meeting a cat at midnight is to meet Satan himself. Other superstitions include if a child is left alone with a cat, the cat will suck the breath out of the child; if a cat sneezes on the morning of a wedding near the bride to be, she will have a happy life; stroking the tail of a black cat will cure a sty in the eye; cats lurking in coal mines are considered to be bad luck (eSSORTMENT). Another English superstition states that cold weather is on the approach if all four paws of a cat are tucked underneath it while the cat is asleep (Pet Library). The French believe that it is bad luck to cross a stream while holding a cat and it is believed by the Irish that killing a cat will bring about seventeen years bad luck (Pet Library). It is believed in Germany that if a black cat crosses your path from right to left it is a bad sign, but if it crosses from left to right then it’s a good sign (Best Cat Art).