Cats are often associated with femininity, a connection which can be traced back to Ancient mythology and is still present today. Our cultural attitudes towards cats hold up a mirror to our attitudes towards women. Let’s review how this relationship has developed through history.
In Ancient Egypt, cats were a multifaceted object of reverence. Cats were indispensable to agriculture, controlling pests such as rodents and snakes which threatened crops and were also worshipped as symbols of fertility, motherhood, and nurturing, themes reflected in the cat goddess Bastet. The goddess was worshipped as a symbol of nurturing and protective feminine energy, reflecting the unusually egalitarian gender ideals that the ancient Egyptians held. When a temple devoted to Bastet was excavated, over 300,000 mummified cats were discovered, demonstrating the deep love and awe Egyptians had for their domesticated cats.
Cats have also been associated with goddesses in other ancient folklores. The Norse goddess of love, beauty and fertility, Freya, rides a chariot pulled by two cats, Bygul and Trjegul who were born of her tears when she was mourning her husband. It was believed that cats were magical creatures in the possession of supernatural senses. For example, people would often be buried with their cats believing that they are able to see into the afterlife and guide their soul there. When kept in the household, cats brought prosperity, but if mistreated would bring about misfortune.
In Ancient Greece, cats were associated with Hecate, the goddess of magic, and the border between life and death. As in Norse mythology, cats were seen as a guiding force, their bright eyes symbols of torches leading the path to the underworld. Black cats in particular were seen to bring protection from evil spirits, and were viewed as symbols of good luck with offerings such as milk being left out for cats on Hecate’s feast days.
Across these three examples, several themes recur. When cats are often associated with womanhood, they are symbols of fertility but also strong feminine protection, whether this be against agricultural pests, misfortune, or evil spirits. Additionally, cats strike up in people connotations of magic and interestingly a connection to the afterlife, a foreshadowing of how the symbolism would take a darker turn in the middle ages with cats being implicated in the witch trials.
The witch trials in Europe and America were a craze of extreme paranoia and fear, spanning from the 15th to the 18th centuries and resulting in the prosecution of approximately 100,000 individuals. During these trials, cats were accused of being “familiars” which aided witches in spells and rituals. Australian historian, Diane Purkiss argues that cats were demonised as they were often the companions of independent or childless women who didn’t fall neatly into society’s expectations, exactly the sort of women who were subject to supernatural suspicion.
This theme reoccurs in the Victorian era, minus the brutal persecution, in the emergence of the “cat-lady” trope. Cats continued to be associated with single women who were not the image of prototypical domestication. These women were labelled as eccentric or even pitiable, and the cat became a symbol of misplaced affection, affection that should have been channelled into securing a husband and children.
This trope has continued into the 21st century with the crazy cat lady stereotype very much still alive in popular culture. The term evokes images of challenges in romance or career-orientation at the expense of a social life. However, the term has, to a certain extent, been reclaimed with some, such as Taylor Swift, proudly wearing the term, and others even jokingly aiming towards attaining the status.
A study into anthropomorphism (Epley et al., 2007) found that people tend onto project human traits on to pets and therefore, prefer animals which reflect their own personality. In Jungian psychology, cats are a representation of the mysterious, hidden aspects of the psyche and are a symbol of both the nurturing and independent aspects of feminine nature, meaning that lots of women easily identify themselves with cats.
Furthermore, a review of research into the relationships between people and their pets (Herzog, 2007), revealed that women are more likely to consider their pets as family whereas men view their pets in functional terms. This offers an explanation for why women prefer the quiet companionship of cats while men seek the active, playful relationship found in dogs.
Additionally, a study into pet attachment (Zasloff & Kidd, 1994) found that people who feel socially marginalised are more likely to form deeper emotional connections with animals, which provides an explanation for the pattern of older, or unmarried women who do not fit into gender ideals or society’s expectations, choosing to keep cats as companions.
But what does this reveal? When woman is the cat that nurtures her kittens, she is idealised, and her spiritual qualities are revered. When woman chooses to be the independent cat, her intuitive insight is demonised, labelled as witchcraft. When woman chooses to lead a life not centred around men, her affection for a pet is unnatural, eccentric, crazy.
Seeing cats as what they truly are, beautiful creatures that demand both love and space, we are reminded of what historically men have rarely allowed women, respect. The freedom to be, or do, something different. Women, like cats, should permit themselves to be both nurturing and reclusive, loving and independent, intuitive and logical.