FELINE FOLKLORE
Urban Legends, Mythology, Superstitions & Folklore
- A kitten born in May - a witches cat.
- A black cat crossing your path - good luck (A white cat in USA, Spain and Belgium)
- A black cat seen from behind - a bad omen.
- Stray tortoise shell cat - bad omen
- Cats bought with money will never be good mousers
- Cat sneezing once - rain
- Cat sneezing three times - the family will catch a cold
- USA belief - A cat washing on the doorstep - the clergy will visit
- Killing a cat - sacrificing your soul to the Devil
- Kicking a cat will cause Rheumatism
- A cat sneezing is a good omen for everyone who hears it. - Italian superstition
- It is bad luck to see a white cat at night
- Dreaming of a white cat means good luck
- When you see a one-eyed cat, spit on your thumb, stamp it in the palm of your hand, and make a wish. The wish will come true.
- If a cat washes behind its ears, it will rain. - English superstition
- A cat sleeping with all four paws tucked under means cold weather ahead. - English superstition
- English schoolchildren believe seeing a white cat on the way to school is sure to bring trouble. To avert bad luck, they must either spit, or turn around completely and make the sign of the cross.
- A black cat crossing one's path by moonlight means death in an epidemic. - Irish superstition
- A strange black cat on your porch brings prosperity. - Scottish superstition
- It is bad luck to cross a stream carrying a cat. - French superstition
- A cat on top of a tombstone meant certainly that the soul of the departed buried was possessed by the devil. Two cats seen fighting near a dying person, or on the grave shortly after a funeral, are really the Devil and an Angel fighting for possession of the soul.
- To see a white cat on the road is lucky.
- To kill a cat brings seventeen years of bad luck. - Irish superstition
- If cats desert a house, illness will always reign there. - English superstition
- In Normandy, seeing a tortoiseshell cat foretells death by accident.
- In the Netherlands, cats were not allowed in rooms where private family discussions were going on. The Dutch believed that cats would definitely spread gossip around the town.
- When moving to a new home, always put the cat through the window instead of the door, so that it will not leave.
- In the early 16th century, a visitor to an English home would always kiss the family cat.
- When the pupil of a cat's eye broadens, there will be rain. - Welsh superstition
- In 16th century Italy, it was believed that if a black cat lay on the bed of a sick man, he would die. But there's also a belief that a cat will not remain in the house where someone is about to die. Watch out if the family cat refuses to stay indoors.
- A superstition gleefully told to me in my youth by my older mischievous brother. "Never stare into a cat's eyes. It will scratch your eyes out!!"
- A free cat will never stay. You always have to pay something even for a "free" cat, one crown (= small Swedish currency) per paw and one for the tail. - Swedish superstition
- "A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere." - Groucho Marx
- A black cat curled up on your afghan means your legs will be chilly.
- How the tabby cat got the M on it's forehead: The legend is that when baby Jesus was born, he was fussing in the manger. Mary tried everything she knew to calm and comfort him. Nothing worked. All the barn animals tried, too. No luck. Then in came a little cat and jumped up in the hay. The cat curled up next to the baby and started purring baby Jesus fell right to sleep, smiling. So Mary put her initial on the cat to mark it as a special animal.
All contents are Copyright © G. Phillips, and printed with permission of the authors.
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