I don’t remember my first encounter with a cat, only that I loved them. I have a photograph of me at age three, looking with giant, happy eyes at an orange kitten clutched in my arms. Cats have followed me ever since, through childhood barns and the pages of stories, in myths and in fantasy novels. Somewhere between gods and ghost-seekers, they’ve walked into our cultural imagination as mysterious and irresistible.
Writers, Scientists, and the Cats They Loved
Many writers adored cats, from Hemingway to Mark Twain. (Just Google Image Search “Authors with cats” for pure joy.) Hemingway left behind an island full of cats, and his book sales continue to support them financially. Mark Twain would insist upon a kitten being present whenever he summered in a favorite cottage. He thought of nothing more pleasurable than a little ball of fur and claws. Cats are the ideal companions for authors, since they laze about and dream all day, leaving us plenty of time to write!
Isaac Newton invented the first cat door, allegedly so his lab cat could come and go. (Nothing more annoying than letting in and out a cat a thousand times a day, am I right?)
Cats in different cultures are seen as good and bad luck, guardians of the dead, creatures who travel between realms, who see ghosts—or are witches or faeries in disguise. You know cats must be important when even Death is obsessed with them in Sir Terry Pratchett’s wonderful Discworld novels. (One character asks Death what there is in this life that makes living worthwhile. Death thinks about it for a bit and then replies, “CATS. CATS ARE NICE.” Click on this for a wonderful Paul Kidby illustration!)
Why do we often use cats in fantasy? Probably because of our cultural fascination with them.
Mythical and Magical Cats Through the Ages
The Egyptians revered them as gods, and you could be put to death for killing one (a just punishment, IMO). Their cat deity was Bastet, the goddess of home, fertility, and protector of the pharaoh, often depicted with a lioness or domestic cat’s head. Egyptians would mummify cats, and entire cemeteries have been discovered filled with feline remains.
The Ancient Greeks associated cats with mystery and independence. The goddess of witchcraft, Hecate, has a cat as a familiar—a supernatural entity in animal form who assists a witch with magic and offers protection.
Freya, the Norse goddess of love and war, rides a chariot pulled by two giant cats.
In Japan, the bakeneko and nekomata are supernatural cat spirits. The maneki-neko, or beckoning cat, is a symbol of good luck and decorates homes and businesses. In Japan, black cats are considered lucky!
Folklore Cats: Tricksters, Healers, and Soul-Stealers
Fairy tales introduce us to dozens of cats, from enchanted princesses who spend their lives as felines, to the “King of the Cats,” where a man returns home after encountering a cat funeral. He tells his wife that a cat named Tom Tildrum is dead, whereupon their snoozing purr-factory by the hearth leaps up with glee, exclaims, “Then I am King of the Cats!” and is never seen again.
Puss in Boots is one of the most famous of these tales: a clever trickster who wins his master wealth and a princess.
In Scottish folklore, there’s the Cat Sìth: a fairy creature who takes the form of a large black cat with a white spot on its chest. It’s said to steal the souls of the recently deceased and walks on its hind legs when unobserved. But if you leave out milk for the Cat Sìth on Samhain, it will bless your home instead of curse it.
Russia’s Kot Bayun is a magical cat who sings stories that lull listeners into a sleep from which they may never awaken. He may claw or devour those who fall asleep, but if you stay awake and capture him, you’ll be richly rewarded—because his voice has the power to heal. Only the brave are worthy of his mercy.
In Islamic tradition, cats are respected. The Prophet Muhammad had a favorite cat named Muezza, and once cut off his sleeve rather than disturb her nap.
Historical Superstitions About Cats
In the Middle Ages, cats were valued for killing mice. A cat could fetch an excellent price, and monasteries in particular paid well for them. But in the 1500s, cats became associated with sorcery, magic, and the Devil.
This led to superstitions—such as the belief that a cat left alone with a baby might “steal its breath” (perhaps drawn to the warmth or the smell of milk). People believed witches could turn into cats or send them as magical agents. A 1584 book called Beware the Cat claimed cats have nine lives because it’s the number of times a witch can transform into one.
In Ireland, a tale circulated that if a black cat crossed your path in moonlight, you would fall ill with the plague.
What Makes Cats So Captivating?
Our enduring fascination with cats stems from how unusual they are. Any cat owner knows: you must be chosen by the cat. You do not own the cat; the cat owns you (and everything else in the house).
Cats are elusive but affectionate, discerning yet distant, playful and independent. As Ellen says of her cat in Nosferatu, “The cat owns herself.” They do not serve you; you serve them. But they love you—in the way only a cat can.
Famous Fictional Cats with Powers Beyond This World
Over the years, cats crept out of legend and into literature as our silent companions—creatures that take us in and out of other worlds and act as guardians and guides.
In Coraline by Neil Gaiman, the cat can only speak in the “Other World.” In His Dark Materials, daemons often take feline form to match introspective, independent personalities.
I recently read a translated Japanese novel about a magical cat who visits a young man cleaning out his father’s bookstore. The cat takes him through time and space to “rescue” books, and in doing so, rescue the souls of their misguided owners. It was utterly charming. (It’s called The Cat Who Saved Books.)
Two Cats Who Inspired My Own Magical Felines
Two fictional cats stand out in my memory and partly inspired the magical cats in my own stories.
One is the cat from Early Edition, a CBS show from the ’90s. Gary Hobson, a young stockbroker in Chicago, is at a low point when a mysterious cat delivers a newspaper—only it’s tomorrow’s news, today. There’s no explanation for where the paper or the cat come from, and the mystery is never solved. We simply accept that a divine force has chosen Gary for this task and sent a cat to deliver it.
The cat appears and disappears at critical moments, nudging Gary toward the people he’s meant to help. Later, Gary sees an old photo of a man from 50 years earlier (Lucius Snow) with the very same cat beside him. It hasn’t aged.
The second is Aslan, from The Chronicles of Narnia. When I go to heaven, if God isn’t a lion, I’ll be disappointed. My love for cats makes me wish I could sink my fingers into His mane and nuzzle Him, just like Lucy. The idea of Jesus as a lion—who sang Narnia into existence and whose roar shapes worlds—has always moved me. It’s this cat who planted a deep and lasting love in my heart, both for Aslan and for the author who gave Him to us.
Cats in My Fiction: Guardians, Guides, and Godlike Beings
Given all this folklore and symbolism, it’s no surprise that cats appear in my own novels—not just as pets, but as protectors, communicators, and spiritual guides.
In Thornewicke, being able to talk to Sebastian is Evangeline’s first clue that she’s not a normal human. She’s descended from Virginia Dare, the first white child born in America, and chosen to guard the Northern Wood from the dark creatures beyond. Sebastian helps her on this journey. He may or may not be God. That’s for the reader to decide.
In The Byron Trilogy, cats protect the house from demons. Dante (named after Dante’s Inferno) and Athena (named for the warrior goddess) do more than sense danger—they fight it. Athena even saves Raven’s life by attacking a demon. She is an angry little black ball of hell’s wrath.
The Cat Beside Me, and Why We Keep Writing About Them
As I write this, one of my own cats lies beside me in a sunbeam. If I kissed him, he’d start to purr—acknowledging me not as his mistress, but as his chosen human. Perhaps that’s why we keep writing about cats. In a world full of chaos and clamor, they remain mysterious, self-possessed, and deeply spiritual. A reminder that magic still walks beside us… on silent paws.
