Fairy Myths: The Cat Sidhe

                                                           The Cat Sidh.

 The Cat Sidhe, Cath Sith, Cait Sidhe, Fairy Cat. is a creature believed to be a type of fay/fairy that lives in or near the Scottish Highlands.

The cat sidhe, like it's name would suggest is a cat like creature, in some versions of this tail it is as  large as a dog.

Most often described as black and white this cat is said to roam the Scottish Highlands, and was believed to steal the souls of any nearby newly deceased bodies before burial.during  the Feill Fadalach  OR  “Lake Wake, unburied bodies were watched over night and day to make sure the Cat Sìth would not gain access to the corpse and to keep it away from the room in which the body was kept they would also avoid lighting any fires near the burial as the Cat sihde was said to be attracted to the warmth .. 

Apparently anything that will distract a cat will work on the cat sith, thing like catnip and music were sometimes used.

Most believed the Cat Sìth is a type of feline fairy, but in some Celtic legends the Cat Sìths were thought to be shape-shifting witches who could turn themselves into a cat at least eight times.

Those attempting the transformation a ninth time would be permanently trapped in there cat  form, This is also the thought to be the origins of  the myth that cats have nine lives. 

The Cat Sìth is all black with the exception of a white spot on its chest.



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On a side note Black Cats are NOT bad luck, at least no more so then any other animal, but because of this misconception they are often mistreated during certain times of the year (Friday the  13th and Halloween for example).... during these times they are often  hurt and sometimes even killed by foolish and cruel people. Pleases keep them indoors and safe during the holidays..