Cats Vs Dogs.

I’m going to get attacked for this blog *deep breath* Here goes…
Cats have fascinated and been worshipped for centuries. They unnerve people. They are unpredictable, slinky, silent, regal, independent, elegant, strangely beautiful, and they come alive at night. There is something about their eyes that glint in the darkness, the sleek fur that is static to the touch, that they only bother with you if they can be arsed, the way they appear from nowhere curling their tail watching you knowingly that freaks people out or pisses people off. However; there are ancient cultures rich in their mythologies that adored cats.
The obvious one is the Egyptians. They worshiped the little felines so much they had a cat Goddess Bastet who was very important to the Pharaoh and the royal home. She was first and foremost a protector. She fought alongside her daddy Ra against the evil snake, and was thus protective to the people against evil spirits and contagious diseases due to the domestic cats of Egypt being used to kill the mice and rats that went after their harvested crops. The Egyptians even mummified their pet cats to go into the afterlife with them once they passed. They had a positive look on kitties indeed.
Asia has their lucky cat ‘Maneki Neko’, a little white cat popularly placed as little statues in homes who symbolises prosperity, fortune in business, and general good luck. The myth comes from the story of a samurai, Lord Naotaka li. He and his men were returning from battle to their home of Hikone (near present day Tokyo).  It began to rain on their journey, and the group came across a small, run-down temple in the woods where a monk lived solitary and though he was very old he kept a little white cat named Tama. Naotaka took shelter from the rain under a tree near this temple, and saw the little cat sitting in the temple’s gateway. Much to his surprise, she raised her paw and seemed to beckon him inside. Intrigued and enchanted, the samurai dismounted his horse and entered the temple grounds just as a bolt of lightning struck the tree under which he had just been standing. Tama the cat saved his life.
In Norse mythology, Odin’s wife Freyja had a cat-drawn chariot. Freyja had power over the place of the dead in the Ninth world, known also as Hel. Being pagan though, the Norse wouldn’t have looked at this power as negative or evil. Death is a necessary phase in the cycle of life and the underworld is a reflection of the darker side of healing and rebirth. When the Norse were converted to Christianity, Freyja who also had an association with love, sex, power of women and healing was named a witch of black magic, and her beloved cats become feared demons.
I don’t know any mythology that places that much power and superstition on dogs. Please enlist in the comments if you know of any. Personally, I love cats. I have great respect and affection for them. I have two little fluffy ginger ones, Loki and Lilith, which are rather chubby and waddle around causing mischief at any given moment. Everything that pisses people off about cats amuses me so much,
Thanks for reading J,
Cat Lady.