Cat Folklore and Superstitions
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.
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.
A cat sneezing is a good omen for everyone who hears it.
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.
In France, it is believed that if you find one white hair on a black cat, Lady Luck will smile upon you.
It is bad luck to see a white cat at night.
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.
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. 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").
Sailors used cats to predict the voyages they were about to embark on. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 possesion of the soul.
In 16th century Italy, it was 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.
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
Cats were sacred to Isis, goddess in Egyptian mythology. Isis' and Osiris' daughter Bast (Bastet, sometimes referred to as Pasht) was the moon goddess and goddess of cats, and was represented by a woman with the face of a cat. The cats in her temple in the city of Bubastis wore heavily jewelled collars, were regarded as Gods and treated royally. Anyone who killed a cat was put to death. The cats were said to control the moon's movement, protect the dead, and had total authority over the royal houses at night because of their ability to see things that humans couldn't in the dark. Cats were so loved by the Egyptians that they sometimes mummified a mouse to accompany the cat into the afterworld.
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.
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.
Cat Spells and Charms
If a black cat crosses your path, greet the animal politely and stroke it three times if possible, while reciting this charm:
'Black cat, cross my path,
Good fortune bring to home and hearth,
When I am away from home
Bring me luck wherever I roam'.
Then leave the cat and go on your way. If you abuse, insult or ignore the cat, no good luck will follow.
