Part VIII of Amulets & Talismans
Since at least the 16th-century in England, Scotland, North Europe, and North America, people erecting houses would hide the corpse of a cat (and sometimes other objects such as old shoes, dried dead rats, and witch bottles) in the walls of the building to repel evil spirits and protect those living inside from witches. The walls of the hearth were common places to conceal these things as it was thought witches could fly down chimneys.
Mummified / dried cats have been found in:-
- Carlyle House in Alexandria, Virginia (built in 1753 by rich Scottish merchant John Carlyle). The house and grounds were turned into a public museum and park in the 1970s, during which a stonemason found a dead cat in a sealed stone alcove up the chimney, sprinkled with herbs. The curled-up cat was photographed and replaced where it had been found, and is now an attraction on the Carlyle House Tour.
- A sealed room inside a 17th-century cottage in Pendle Hill in England, where there was a famous witch trial (10 local men and women were hanged in 1612 for witchcraft).
Cats, of course, were believed to possess a sixth sense (similar to the Severed Sense that the Nighthunter has…) and the bricking up of a cat in the wall was a type of blood sacrifice. Perhaps it was believed the cat’s spirit could use its psychic powers to fight off evil entities. Most cats were already dead before being placed in walls, though a few were apparently walled up alive. (After suffering that sort of treatment, why would the cat want to defend the people who had caused it such a grisly end?)
The practice may have also functioned as a rodent repellent, as rodents tend to avoid the smell of cats or the smell of cat urine.
In some instances, the cats have been found posed as if in the middle of attacking something, or accompanied by the bodies of rats, mice, and birds.
This folk magic practice may have stemmed from the Romans and also spread into Australia.
According to the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, cats had a protective function and this was indicated in that manuscript by depicting the sun god Ra as a cat.
Other ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses were shown with cat heads as well, such as Mafdet, Bastet, and Sekhmet, who represented justice, fertility, and power. The deity Mut was also shown as a cat, or in the company of a cat.
Lucky Cats
The maneki neko or “beckoning cat” is a popular good-luck figurine in Japan.
These days, they are made of ceramic or plastic. Traditionally, the cat is modelled after the calico Japanese Bobtail cat, its paw raised in a beckoning (or “waving” gesture if you come from the Western world) and it usually is holding a koban coin.
Old maneki nekos were made of carved wood, stone, handmade porcelain, or metal such as cast iron. They were originally white to bring luck.
There are a few different folktales giving the origin of the maneki nekos:
- During the Kan’ei era (1622–1624) of the Edo period, Ii Naotaka — a Japanese feudal lord or daimyo — was leading his party back from a falconry and stopped at Gōtoku-ji Temple after a cat beckoned to them at the temple’s gate. A powerful thunderstorm followed. The party wondered at the cat’s good luck and thanked the priest for his hospitality. Gōtoku-ji became the family temple of the Ii clan and maneki neko was made in honour of that cat.
- In another tale, Ōta Dōkan (a warlord in 1336–1573 who built Edo Castle) was fighting a battle against the Toshima clan. The enemy outnumbered Dokan and he lost his way. A cat appeared and beckoned him to enter the Jishōin Temple. There, he was able to turn the tables and win the war. In thanks, Dōkan gave a sculpture of the cat to the temple, and the maneki-neko was born.
- In another story, an old woman lived near the Imado Shrine and had to abandon her cat because of poverty. The cat visited her in a dream and said that if she fashioned an ornament of the cat, she would have good luck. The old woman followed this advice, creating a cat out of Imado ware, then sold it at the Asakusa Shrine, where it became popular and made her rich.
- In another version of events, the operator of a struggling shop (or inn, tavern, or temple) took in a starving stray though he barely had enough to feed himself. In return, the cat sat in the front of the shop, beckoning to customers, which brought prosperity to the kindly shopkeeper. Since then, the “beckoning cat” was a symbol of good fortune for small business owners.
- In another story, a courtesan was working in Miuraya during the Edo period. She always carried a cat around with her. People spread rumours that she was bewitched by the cat and that the cat was demonic. As a result, the owner of Miuraya decapitated and killed the cat. The cat’s disembodied head bit a giant snake that was lurking in a toilet, thereby saving Usugumo’s life. A regular customer gave Usugumo a wooden carving in the shape of a cat to try to ease her grief over the cat’s death. The carving was copied and sold in Asakusa, which led to the selling of maneki neko.
The lucky cats are often on display in shops, restaurants, casinos, hotels, houses, bars, nightclubs, and even laundromats!
Some lucky cats have a mechanical paw that slowly moves backwards and forwards. If it’s the right paw, this is meant to bring more money, and right-pawed cats are usually put in the home. If it’s the left paw that beckons, this is believed to bring more customers and those cats are shown in businesses.
The cats can have other colours or combinations of colours now – black to ward off evil, red for excellent health, yellow or gold for wealth, and pink for attracting romance.
Sometimes referred to as “calling cats,” they can also be in the form of keychains, air fresheners, pots, and piggy banks. That’s a breath of fresh air compared to walling up a dead cat in your living room.
Other instalments of Amulets & Talismans:
Nightwalks 
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