Cats are theorized to be older than dogs, with their family tree branching off nearly 2.5 million years before canines. They may not have used their time to build a reputation as loyal companions, but myths and folklore across the globe show us they’ve always been near to humanity.
From guardians to ill-omens, there are plenty of strong feelings on record. Let’s look at 6 cats from myths and tales across the globe.
1. Bastet and Egyptian Renown for Cats
Bastet is the Egyptian cat-headed human-bodied goddess of home, fertility, and childbirth. She’s known to guard against evil spirits, but has a fierce duality that anyone familiar with cats will understand.
Keep her pleased and she rewards you with good fortune, but anger her and reap her complete chaos and destruction.
Overall, cats are revered in Egyptian mythology. Killing a cat was an unspeakable misdeed that could cause your own death, and households did everything they could to please these guardians in the hope to ward off evil spirits.
Many of the oldest cat breeds, like the Egyptian Mau and Chaussie, are descendants of this relationship.
2. Japanese Maneki-Neko
You’ve probably seen depictions of the Maneki-Neko at least once in your life, on television if not in person. The most popular variation of its myth says that the calico Japanese bobtail motioned for Ii Naotaka to rest in a temple. Soon after a violent storm hit, and the cat’s hospitality was recorded in history.
Now the cat is a symbol believed to attract good fortune and positive energy wherever it is, whether that’s at home or in a business.
3. Scottish Cat-Sìth (Irish Cat Sí)
Celtic cat superstitions warn of a large black cat with a white spot on its chest that likes to prey on the dead. The spectre is said to haunt the Scottish Highlands, stealing the souls of the dead if it comes across them before their burial. People would watch over their loved ones to prevent this from happening.
Other stories see them as witches who could transform into a cat nine times, but the warning remains in all cases. Some believed you could get their blessing by leaving out a saucer of milk on Samhain and that households who did not would earn their ire.
4. The Underwater Panther of the Northeastern Woodlands and Great Lakes Region
The Underwater Panther of the Great Lakes region is a common figure in First Peoples tales, with plenty of variations between tribes like the Asnishinaabe, Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi. Overall, it is revered as the most powerful being of the underworld.
Known as Mishibijiw (Mishipeshu), the creature may feature:
- The head and paws of a big cat
- The horns of a deer or a bison
- Feathers
- Antlers
- Scales
- Dagger-like spikes along its spine
Nearly all tales recount a very long, snake-like tail. The Mishibijw made sounds of the storms and rushing water and was thought to guard the copper that Indigenous people mined from the Great Lakes before European settlers arrived.
One myth speaks of a woman who cut the tail off Mishibijiw when it attacked her and her sister-in-law. She realized the tail was made of copper and gifted the valuable item to her father.
Mishijibiw is the underwater counterpart of the thunderbird, both opposing and complimenting the famous beast for all of eternity.
5. The Wampus Cat
Like Mishibijiw, Wampus Cat has several variations. Sometimes it’s a human-feline hybrid. Others, it’s a six-legged mountain lion or amphibious panther.
One Cherokee tale tells of a woman, Running Deer, who tears into the forest wearing a feline Booger Mask and the spirit of a mountain cat to hunt down and challenge the evil Spirit of Madness Ew’ah after it drives her husband, Standing Bear, insane.
She successfully sneaks up on the spirit, and it is so scared of her mask that its power turns traitorous and Ew’ah defeats itself. Running Deer becomes the Spirit-Talker and Home-Protector of the tribe.
Appalachian lore has many names for the Wampus Cat, including Gallywampus and Whistling Wampus. Many depict it as a woman cursed for either her disobedience or her penchant for witchcraft.
Tales through the south warn of the creature attacking livestock and even children. While sightings have died down, the blood-curdling cries of the mountain lion urge even the most logical mind to consider the horrors of the myths.
6. Freyja’s Chariot-Pulling Cats, Bygul and Trjegul
Freyja’s (Freya’s) chariot-pulling cats are never actually named in their myths. The names we use today were given by author Diana Paxton: Trjegul (tree gold, to represent amber) and Bygul (bee gold, to represent honey).
The pair of male cats, sometimes described as lynxes, are mentioned in the Prose Eda as Freyja sits in her chariot during her son Balder’s funeral.
A Russian tale describes them as a gift from Thor, who was awoken by a horrible noise and found the magic cat Bayun singing to two blue kittens along the river. Bayun explained that their mother had abandoned them with him, and Thor decided to help out by gifting them to Freyja.
The pair also show up in Freyja’s rescue of her brother, Freyr, from the Þjazi after he refuses to hand over his famous sword Sumarbrandr. After Þjazi transforms into an eagle and carries him away, Bygul and Trjegul help Freyja track down the evil being. They also ensure she escapes unharmed with her brother, signifying their loyalty and capability.
Freyja’s association with the cats is deeply rooted in Norse tradition. It was common for Vikings to gift a kitten (or a pair) to newlyweds to pass on Freyja’s blessings of fertility to the pair.
