The Cat Sìth (Scottish Gaelic: [kʰaht̪ ˈʃiː]) or Cat Sídhe (Irish: [kat̪ˠ ˈʃiː]) is a fairy creature from Scottish mythology, said to resemble a large black cat with a white spot on its breast. Legend has it that the spectral cat haunts the Scottish Highlands. Some common folklore suggested that the Cat Sìth was not a fairy, but a transformed witch.
The myths surrounding this creature are more common in Scottish Folklore, but a few myths occur in Irish folklore as well.
As proposed by British cryptozoologist Karl Shuker, in his book Mystery Cats of the World (1989), it is possible that the legends of the Cat Sìth were inspired by Kellas Cats, which are probably a distinctive hybrid between European Wildcats and domestic cats only found in Scotland (the European Wildcat is absent from elsewhere in the British Isles). Typical Kellas Cats resemble large black wildcats, but with some peculiar features closer to domestic cats, and have probably been present in Scotland for centuries, maybe even some 2 millennia or more.
A similar creature appears in Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Black Cat," in which an ominous feline appears with a white patch on its breast whose shape appears to change into that of the gallows as a means of exacting vengeance on its master for its predecessor's death.
See also
References
- Shuker, Karl P.N. (1989). Mystery Cats of the World. Robert Hale: London, 1989. ISBN 0-7090-3706-6
- Pronunciation for this word is either cat-shee or ket-shee, taken from its Gaelic root. Source: 'Sidhe' or 'Sith' is also mentioned in 'The Book of Fairies', pronunciation being explained for Daoine Sidhe.
External links
- The Scottish Big Cat Trust An article on the Kellas cat.
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