Both Hebrew and Arabian folklore claim the first cat appeared on Noah's ark. After entering the ark, Noah and his children, fearing the voracious appetites of the rats and mice, pray to God lest these creatures devour all the provisions. In response, God causes the sleeping lion to produce a cat from his nostrils with a giant sneeze.
In Romanian folklore, when the day came for Noah and his family to enter the ark, his wife refused to get on board. At the last moment, Noah shouted at his wife, "You old devil, get on board." The Devil, took this as an invitation and, planning to drown Noah and his company, climbed aboard the ark in the shape of a mouse. When Noah found the mouse gnawing a hole in the ark, he threw a glove at it. The glove immediately turned into a cat and sprang upon the mouse which it engaged in such a violent combat that Noah was obliged to toss both creatures overboard. At this point, the Devil swam off to try his luck another day and the cat returned to the ark, where she lay in the doorstep to dry herself in the sun. That is why cats enjoy basking in the sun.
Today the Manx is a cat which has little or no tail. It has not always been this way. Before the flood, the Manx had the finest, bushiest tail of all the cats. Greed and gluttony were his downfall. As Noah was calling the animals to come into the ark, the Manx stayed just outside the door, determined to catch and eat every mouse he could before they were swept away by the flood. Noah kept calling to him but he would not come in until the waters began rising. As he boarded the ark, Noah quickly slammed the door shut, accidentally cutting off the Manx's tail.
In Medieval times, it was rumoured that the cat was created by the Devil in an attempt to create a man. It was at first shapeless and skinless, but St. Peter took pity on the helpless creature and created a fur coat for it.
Christian legend says the "M" on the tabby's forehead was placed there by the Madonna. One night in the stable, Mary could not get the baby Jesus to sleep. She tried everything and even begged the animals to help her. Finally, a tabby cat curled up by the infant and purred him to sleep. As a reward Mary placed the "M" on the tabby's forehead.
Another legend regarding cats and the Madonna says that a litter of kittens was born in the stable at the same time as Jesus was born. As a momento this cat wears a fur cross on her back.
The Italians tell the story of how the Devil sent an army of 100 mice to disturb St. Francis of Assissi and turn him from the path of God. All day and all night, the mice tormented him. They even went so far as to eat off his plate and bite his feet. After a short time, God sent a cat named Felix to destroy the mice. Unfortunately, 2 of the mice escaped through cracks in the wall of St. Francis' cell. Since then, the descendants of Felix can be found waiting by cracks in walls, hoping to put an end to those last 2 mice, so they can return to heaven.
Comments© 1997 by Suzetta Tucker
To cite this page:
Tucker, Suzetta. "ChristStory Christian Cat Legends."
ChristStory Christian Bestiary. 1997. http://ww2.netnitco.net/users/legend01/cattale
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