Aka: | Cat-sidhe, Fairy Cat |
Folklore: | Scottish, Irish |
Grouping: | Legendary creature |
Sub Grouping: | Fairy, witch |
Country: | Scotland |
Region: | Scottish Highlands |
Similar Entities: | Phantom cat |
The Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: cat-sìth (in Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic kʰaʰt̪ ˈʃiː/, plural Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: cait-shìth), in Irish Irish: cat sí (in Irish kat̪ˠ ˈʃiː/), is a fairy creature from Celtic mythology, said to resemble a large black cat with a white spot on its chest. Legend has it that the spectral cat haunts the Scottish Highlands. The legends surrounding this creature are more common in Scottish folklore, but a few occur in Irish. Some common folklore suggested that the Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: cat-sìth was not a fairy, but a witch that could transform into a cat nine times.[1] [2] [3]
The Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: cat-sìth may have been inspired by the Scottish wildcat itself.[4] Furthermore, it is also possible that the legends of the Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: cat-sìth were inspired by Kellas cats, which are a distinctive hybrid between Scottish wildcats and domestic cats found only in Scotland (the Scottish wildcat is a population of the European wildcat, which is now absent from elsewhere in the British Isles).
The Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: cat-sìth is all black with the exception of a white spot on its chest.[5] It is described as being as large as a dog and chooses to display itself with its back arched and bristles erect.[1] [5]
In the English folk tale "The King of the Cats", a man comes home to tell his wife and cat, Old Tom, that he saw nine black cats with white spots on their chests carrying a coffin with a crown on it and one of the cats tells the man to "Tell Tom Tildrum that Tim Toldrum is dead." Old Tom then exclaims, "What?! Old Tim dead! Then I'm the King o' the Cats!" The cat then climbs up the chimney and is never seen again.[6]
Some people believed that the Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: cat-sìth was a witch or demon in the guise of an animal, and that Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: cat-sìth had no connection to fairies. [1]
The demonic Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: cat-sìth called Big Ears could be summoned (Gaelic Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: taghairm in Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic pronounced as /tɤrʲɤm/) to appear and grant any wish to those who took part in the ceremony. The ceremony required practitioners to burn the bodies of cats over the course of four days and nights.[1] [7]