Cat Sìth

Cat Sìth

The "Cat Sìth" or "Cat Sídhe" (pronounced 'Kett Shee') is a fairy creature from Scottish and Irish mythology, said to resemble a large black cat with a white spot on its breast. Legend has it that the spectral cat haunts the Scottish Highlands. Some common folklore suggested that the "Cat Sìth" was not a fairy, but a transformed witch.

The myths surrounding this creature are more common in Scottish Folklore, but a few myths originate in Irish folklore as well.

As proposed by British cryptozoologist Karl Shuker, in his book "Mystery Cats of the World" (1989), it is possible that the legends of the "Cat Sìth" were inspired by Kellas Cats, which are probably a distinctive hybrid between European Wildcats and domestic cats only found in Scotland (the European Wildcat is absent from elsewhere in the British Isles). Typical Kellas Cats resemble large black wildcats, but with some peculiar features closer to domestic cats, and have probably been present in Scotland for centuries, maybe even some 2 millennia or more.

A not dissimilar creature appears in Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Black Cat", in which an ominous feline appears with a white patch on its breast whose shape appears to change into that of the gallows as a means of exacting vengeance on its master for its predecessor's death.

ee also

*Aos Sí
*List of fictional cats
*Kellas Cat
*Cu Sìth
*Phantom cat

Use in pop culture

*"Final Fantasy XI" - Cait Sith is a character that plays an important role in the storyline of the "Wings of the Goddess" expansion:

*"Final Fantasy VII" - Cait Sith is a side character who aids the main characters by helping them avoid traps laid out by the evil ShinRa corporation.

*"Final Fantasy VI" - Cait Sith is the original Japanese name for the Esper Stray.

*"Final Fantasy IV" - Cait Sith is a monster in the forests surrounding Troia (Japanese version).

*"Aria" - Cait Sith is a character whose role is akin to being the lord or god of the cats on both earth (called Man-home in the Aria setting) and Aqua (Mars). As well as having great supernatural powers, he acts as a guardian character for the main character Akari.

*"The Black Company" - Cat Sith is the name of one of the Unknown Shadows that befriends Murgen's son Tobo in "Soldiers Live".

*"Yume Miru Kusuri" - Cat Sidhe Nekoko is the main character. Her real name is Sakurai Hiroko. Sakurai turns into Cat Sidhe whenever she takes a certain drugs, and will go search for the fairy home.

References

* Shuker, Karl P.N. (1989). "Mystery Cats of the World." Robert Hale: London, 1989. ISBN 0-7090-3706-6
*Pronunciation for this word is either cat-shee or ket-shee, taken from its Gaelic root. Source: 'Sidhe' or 'Sith' is also mentioned in 'The Book of Fairies', pronunciation being explained for Daoine Sidhe.

External links

* [http://www.bigcats.org/abc/identification/kellascataron.html The Scottish Big Cat Trust] An article on the Kellas cat.


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