Throughout history, there have been countless tales of magnificent beasts and fearsome creatures lurking in the dark corners of the wild. From the multi-headed hydra to dragons that breathe fire, there are plenty of fascinating stories to dig out of the past. Since cats have been hanging around humankind for millennia, it should come as no surprise that myths about famous felines are quite common. Learning more about these stories will easily give you “paws” the next time you cross paths with a kitty.
The King of the Cats
Most folktales get told so many times that it is difficult to know which version is the original. This is the case with “The King of the Cats,” a popular story in England that has been shared endless times. The accepted standard of the story is usually attributed to William Baldwin’s “Beware the Cat” in 1553. The story involves a traveler who passes by a crowd of cats and hears a voice call to him. The voice tells the traveler a person whose name he doesn’t recognize is dead.
The voice also tells the traveler to pass this news to another person with a name he can’t place. When he arrives at his destination, he tells this odd story to the people present. Once he completes the tale, a house cat in the room rises and shouts “Then I am the king of cats!” and runs into the night. A silly and odd tale that definitely leaves one stroking his or her own whiskers.
The Yule Cat
Around the holiday season, plenty of people receive new clothing as gifts. While it may be customary to politely accept these presents without the intention of wearing any of it, you could be creating danger for yourself according to one Icelandic story. The Yule Cat is one of a few gigantic famous felines, and the Yule Cat is said to wander the woods on Christmas Eve in search of anyone who is not wearing new clothes. If the cat finds someone in old threads, it will eat them without hesitation.
Supposedly, this is a story that dates back to the nineteenth century. Farmers across Iceland would incentivize workers to pick cotton faster by promising those with the highest yields a new outfit to avoid the Yule Cat’s hunger. To this day, it is a helpful way for parents to get kids to try out their holiday outfits without a fuss.
The Pard
Historians and academics alike believe that many myths and legends about fearsome beasts were actually referring to animals not normally encountered by people. The pard is a perfect example of this. First described by Roman author Pliny the Elder, pards were said to have been the ancestors to leopards. When a lioness and a pard mated, it resulted in leopards. Although stories initially described the beast as docile, they eventually shifted to call it bloodthirsty. However, scholars constantly debated if the creature was ever real.
In the seventeenth century, it was finally decided that the pard was a myth. Now, it is believed that the pard was likely the panther, which is in truth itself a black-coated leopard.
The Splintercat
Even with all the advancements the human race has made, myths about imaginary beasts prevail to this day. In the United States, the splintercat is a modern example of such stories. First told of in the 1974 book “The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles” by actress and author Julie Andrews, the splintercat is said to stalk the Pacific Northwest. The famous felines smash open trees with their heads to expose bees and raccoons, but the story says this gives splintercats a poor disposition and constant headaches.
While your common house cat might seem safe enough, cats have a permanent place in humankind’s stories. Though most would agree that the temperament of the average kitten is more appealing than that of the Yule Cat or pard.