Lore of the Cat ~ Pawprints and Purrs, Inc.

There is one way in which cats differ from all other animals and that is in the effect they have on human beings.

Many people feel indifferent about dogs, horses or caged birds. They may have one of their own and be fond of it or they may not care for them at all, but either way they are not deeply affected. A few are sentimental about their own pets, but one rarely hears of a dog, horse or budgerigar phobia. Cats on the other hand, produce strong human reactions, and there are comparatively few people who just "don't mind" cats. They seem to be strangely magnetic animals with an equally strong power to fascinate or repel, for most humans faced unexpectedly with one admit either that he "adores" cats or "can't stand the sight" of them.

Catlovers say they love cats because they are good companions and useful mousers, or those who hate cats say cats kill or maim birds and are ungrateful or sly. But both statements are rationalizations, for it is obvious that cats excite irrational feelings which emerge from a much deeper psychic level.

The cat has always stimulated people's imagination, attracting to itself a colorful and lively stream of myth, folklore, legend and fairytale. It has had fantastic powers attributed to it which have resulted in its being used in secret rites of both white and black magicians. Cats have never been ignored; people have always felt something about them. In the past, either they were felt to be divine and were worshipped, or else they were considered demonic and were burnt.

Although in the East cats still play a part in religious ritual, it is unlikely that anyone in the West worships cats, in a conscious and literal sense, these days. Nevertheless, black cats are still said to be lucky (or unlucky as the case may be); and many people betray signs of the cult of the cat, making these animals the center of their lives, and treating them with a respect or dread that would seem appropriate only in relation to a supernatural being.

Humans want to know precisely what the cat means to us all; where its power lies and why its image has survived for thousands of years in amulets, folklore and literature. No one seems to have gotten to the root of this, but if a thorough investigation of what all the people have thought, imagined and believed about cats, and are able to get some insight into the significance of it, an answer can be found.

The mass of material that is available seems to divide naturally into the light and dark aspects of the cat's nature and associations - the "whiteness" and "blackness" of the cat's reputation, rather than to its natural coloring.

There is a Celtic belief that cats' eyes are windows through which human beings may explore an inner world. In examining the power that the cat has to raise feelings and to stimulate imagination, one can hardly fail to learn more about human nature in the process.

There were awe-inspiring Egyptian cats who received worship and sacrifice from humans. The cats brought fertility to the fields of suppliant farmers, cats protected the living and the dead from evil, and cats brought healing and happiness into people's lives. As the significance of the beliefs behind these practices emerge, it has much light to throw on the feelings of those who "adore" cats.

Then there are the ailurophobes - those who do not merely dislike cats but experience hate, fear and nausea in their presence. The feline demon comes into its own with its blazing eyes and its monstrous fangs and claws. The devil-cat emerges from the center of sexual orgies of witches' Sabbats and of the ceremonies of black magicians. The vampire-cat sucks the blood of sleeping men, and the feline succubus drain their vitality.

Catlovers and cathaters find that they do come together; for it seems that the cat has not only been thought of as wholly good or evil, but has also been recognized as forming a bridge between the two. This animal has power deeply to enrich our lives if, instead of obsessively loving or hating the cat, humans adopt a realistic attitude toward its paradoxical nature, and allow it to communicate its wisdom.