Cats have been domesticated in Central Europe for 10,000 years.
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“Why do cats meow, yowl, and cry so much at night?” I asked our Bulgarian driver. “It’s love season,” he replied in broken English with a smile.
“Don’t the owners mind?” I continued.
“Not all cats are pets, sir. Many are street cats.”
It was the end of January, my first month in Sofia, Bulgaria. As the snowfall diminished and the weather improved, I saw healthy cats of various sizes and colours roaming the streets freely. Whenever I opened the door of my residence, I would spot a cat or two heading to a nearby house or the open field. At night, they don’t merely meow; they whine and wail, piercing the silence of a solitary European winter evening. They lament, complain, and grieve. I spoke with a few locals. Some mentioned that they wail when they feel lonely, while others said they do so to attract attention. A few reiterated that it was the season for romance.
The history of cats living alongside humans remains unknown. However, they have been domesticated in Central Europe for 10,000 years. The Nubian cat from North Africa, is considered their ancestor. The Nubian cat travelled to this region through Anatolia, Cyprus, and Greece, eventually reaching ancient Rome. It cross-bred and reproduced in 19th-century Poland, leading to the gradual emergence of smaller domestic cats. Over the centuries, cats have secured a significant place in human settlements, myths, legends, and creative endeavours.
Cats have played notable roles in films such as Puss in Boots, Tom and Jerry, Shrek, The Aristocats, Alice in Wonderland, and Bolt. However, their social presence has been ambivalent; they are admired and often associated with various biases across nearly every society, especially the black cats. In my birthplace in Odisha, seeing a cat at dawn is considered a bad omen, and it is also regarded as inauspicious if a cat crosses one’s path. A similar stigma exists throughout much of Europe, where black cats are often viewed as harbingers of bad luck, particularly if they cross one’s path.
In Japan, the nekomata is a cat with two tails. It is part of the yokai (supernatural world). In some tales, the nekomata is a mischievous trickster. Some legends also describe it as devouring humans. Similarly, the bakeneko, which has one tail, is known for its shapeshifting abilities and the potential to possess its owner.
Native American folklore speaks of the wampus cat, depicted as a mystical, green-eyed feline with supernatural abilities. It has been described in various ways: sometimes as a creature that is part-human and part-feline, at other times as a blend of dog and cat, and occasionally as having six legs. The wampus cat is known for its nocturnal hunting.
Certain societies consider cats as good luck. In ancient Egypt, they were revered for controlling mice and rats. By the 9th century BCE, the worship of Bastet, the goddess of ancient Egypt, evolved from that of a lioness to a cat deity, regarded as a nurturing mother. Similarly, during the Industrial Revolution in England, a black cat on a ship was deemed a sign of good fortune. Women were encouraged to gift their sailing husbands a black cat for safety and prosperity.
As many other societies, Bulgarian folklore and legends associate cats with both good and evil. Nevertheless, it is normal for Bulgarians to keep cats as pets.
As a child, I was fascinated by how a mother cat moves her kittens from one place to another. She gently lifts a kitten by the scruff of its neck and carries it to a cosy spot. I have been told that kittens are born in Bulgaria in May and June, and I await the opportunity to witness the Bulgarian version of this phenomenon.
Published – May 04, 2025 04:12 am IST