10 strange and mystical cats people once believed in

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Why are cats considered so mysterious? The Egyptians worshiped them, the Europeans were afraid of them, and the Japanese were even afraid that cats could walk on their hind legs and talk. Yet literally every culture around the world believes that cats have a unique ability to sense the supernatural.

1. Kite shi

Kait shi means "fairy cat". This black cat with a white spot on the chest grew to the size of a young calf. The Irish believed that the kite shea was a fabulous and mystical animal, while the Scots believed that it was a reincarnated witch.

Legend has it that Kait shi is a witch who can transform herself into a cat nine times, and after the ninth transformation she will remain a cat forever. If a black cat approached the deceased, the Scots believed that it was a kite shea who came to steal the soul of the deceased (before she went to another world). As a result, people were often on duty 24 hours a day near the body, right up to its burial.

There was another way to distract the kite shea. When he met this cat, he was asked a complex riddle, and he stopped and pondered the answer for some time. Also, no fire was made in the room where the body was located, since the heat could attract the kite shi. Scientists today believe that the legend of the kite shea originated from the Scottish Kellas cats, which are a hybrid of a wild cat and a domestic cat. Large and black Kellas are impossible to tame.

2. Cactus cats

About 100 years ago, there were stories of mischievous creatures known as cactus cats that lived in the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Despite the fact that they did not differ in size and shape from domestic cats, these creatures were covered with needles, and their tails and ears ended in growths similar to cacti.

Cactus cats ate cactus juice, but not in the usual way. They bit the cacti at the base and returned to them only every other day to ferment the juice. After that, the cats drank it and, getting drunk, went to wander in the desert, rumbling loudly and stabbing everyone in the way with their thorns. This habit led to the extinction of cactus cats, as when drunk they became easy prey for cowboys who hunted them.

3. Club-tailed cats

Cats with a mace-shaped tail, according to legends, lived in the north of the United States. As with the prehistoric ankylosaurus, the club-tailed cat used a giant bone ball at the end of its tail to stun its prey. This cat climbed onto tree branches and could wait on them all day until an unsuspecting victim passed under the tree. After that, the cat jumped on its prey and beat it to death with a club on its tail. During the mating season, males attracted females by drumming their tails on hollow logs. A similar cat allegedly lives in the southern part of the United States. Like the club-tailed relative, the splinter cat sits in a tree waiting for prey. However, in a splinter cat, the ball at the end of the tail is smooth on one side and spiky on the other. The cat stuns the victim passing under the tree by hitting the head with the smooth side of the ball, and then hooks it with thorns and drags it onto the tree.

4. Troll cats

The Scandinavians believed that the troll cat was an assistant to witches who made it from various objects, such as sticks with burnt ends, spindles wrapped in wool, and stockings. After creating the "blank" of the troll, the witch dripped three drops of blood on it and read a special spell to breathe life into her creation. Troll cats took the form of either a cat or a rolling ball, like a ball of threads. Witches mostly instructed their troll cats to infiltrate neighboring farms, where they stole milk by sucking it straight from the cows. When the troll-cat, bloated with milk, returned home to its owner, it would vomit milk into the trough.

The Scandinavians believed that if you shoot a troll cat, milk will flow from the wound. The witch suffered the same damage as her troll familiar. This belief was used by the cunning Tsagane. They poured poison on the cattle, and then came to the owners, offering to cure the cattle for money and catch a troll-cat.

5. Cat rabbits

Cat rabbits or cabbits were a hybrid of a cat and a rabbit. This animal was first mentioned by Joseph Train after his trip to the Isle of Man, located between England and Ireland. However, scientists said that such a hybrid is genetically impossible, and Train actually saw a Manx cat with a clipped tail. Also, this breed of cats differs in that its hind legs are longer than the front ones (due to this, they bounce when walking).

In 1977, a man named Val Chapman found an animal in New Mexico, which he considered a white "cat rabbit" with pink eyes. He showed this animal at a mall in Los Angeles and brought it to the Tonight Show twice. Later, scientists determined that Chapman's cabbit was an ordinary cat with genetic abnormalities.

6. Bakeneko

Bakeneko are supernatural cats from Japanese folklore. In the early years of its life, bakeneko does not differ from a typical domestic cat. But as he grows up, he begins to develop supernatural powers. After reaching a certain age (usually 12 or 13 years old), bakeneko begins to walk on its hind legs, like a human. He can also speak and understand human languages. Adult bakeneko can transform into a human, and evil bakeneko can devour their master and take his place.

Not all of these cats are evil, some of them are quite carefree and like to dance with headscarves on their heads. However, even funny cats can cause tons of problems as well. Their tails contain fire magic, capable of setting fire to any flammable material that the magic cat touches with its tail.

The old bakeneko also had the ability to raise zombie slaves, so the cat's owners could wake up and see dead neighbors pouring milk to their cat in their kitchen in the middle of the night. Superstitious Japanese sometimes cut off their pets' tails to prevent them from becoming bakeneko.

7. Nekomata

As bakeneko grows old, it becomes even more monstrous. After reaching old age, its tail bifurcates, and bakeneko evolves into a creature called nekomata. While bakeneko are sometimes good, all nekomata are evil and love to feast on human flesh. They are excellent speakers and know how to subordinate people to their will.

The most terrible of the skills of nekomat is that they have the ability to pursue people in the form of their dead relatives and friends. The most powerful of these creatures supposedly live in the mountains and have cat eyes and a dog's body, although they can transform into anyone or anything. There are people who actually claimed to have seen a nekomat.

8. Splitting cats

The splitting cat (or splinter) allegedly lives in the forests of North America. This is the complete opposite of the typical secretive cats. Splinters are noisy, clumsy, dumb and literally oak-headed. They use their strong skulls to smash trees. Splitting cats have sharp claws with which they climb trees, powerful hind legs to jump between adjacent trees and wedge-shaped muzzles to break trees.

Splitters are nocturnal and prefer to hunt during downpours, when their loud actions are drowned out by the noise of rain and thunderstorms. These cats feed on raccoons and bees, "splitting" trees to get to the bees.

9. Guardians of the Otherworldly

The belief of the Egyptians in the mystical properties of cats spread to the Roman conquerors. From Rome, this belief was adopted by the Celts, who began to consider cats as guardians of the otherworldly, and not only in a spiritual sense. Cave of the Cats is the gateway to hell in Ireland. It is believed that this is the gate that leads through the bowels of the Earth to the other world. On Samhain (Halloween), monsters come out of the Cats' Cave to terrorize people at night.

Myths tell how the legendary hero Cuchulainn somehow tamed the wild demon cats that emerged from the cave. But the cave itself is not a myth at all. This is a real place that can be seen in Ireland today (however, tourists are not allowed inside the cave, since part of the cave collapsed, leaving some of the tunnels blocked.

10. Big Ears

There is a demonic cat known as Big Ears in Scottish folklore. He is said to be a descendant of Irusan, the mythical king of cats. The Scots believed that Big Ears was an oracle that could grant wishes. Therefore, pagan sorcerers performed a barbaric ritual to summon this creature. For several days, they roasted live cats on a spit until an army of devil cats appeared to put an end to it. At the head of this army was just Big Ears, who fulfilled any wishes or predicted the future. This ritual was performed in the 17th century, although it was condemned by the church. The last cat was burned in March 1824.

Feline fans hopefully be happy to see 20 of the cutest and fluffiest domestic cats.