Cat (cat) in people's lives

CATS are pets that personify the comfort and peace of home. They first settled with people, apparently, in the 3rd millennium BC. e. in Egypt and were defined. Cats appeared in Russia in the 9th and 10th centuries. and, unlike Western Europe, were never persecuted, but were not celebrated so often and passionately. They lived peacefully in the home, and the attitude towards the cat is embodied not so much in literary texts as in proverbs and sayings: “A cat and a woman in a hut, a man and a dog in the yard”, “He who loves cats will love his wife”, “A cat for a proud man” won’t jump on your chest”, “To kill a cat - you won’t see any luck in anything for seven years”, etc. Fairy tales (“The Cat, the Goat and the Ram”, “Kot Kotofeevich”) present the cat as a mischievous and independent creature; the cat does not get lost in any situation and turns out to be the master of the situation. The famous plot of popular prints is “How Mice Buried a Cat,” which interprets the actions of Peter I, playing up his external resemblance to a cat. Peter I is also associated with a legend about a learned cat who sat on the table of his office and, in moments of royal anger, poured ink on the paper with a cruel decree or tore it with his claws. The personal imperial decree of Elizabeth I (1745) is dedicated to cats: on sending cats capable of catching mice to the new capital.

The cat, as an indispensable element of Russian home life, is found in the works of many Russian writers and artists. Since childhood, everyone has known “The Scientist Cat” by A. S. Pushkin, reflecting the folklore Bayun Cat. Russia became the first country in which cats began performing in the circus (Yu. Kuklachev). The special place of the cat in Russian culture is expressed by the fact that the cat is the only animal that has the right to enter and live in an Orthodox church.

Thus, over the course of many centuries, the cat has firmly entered into people’s lives and has become an indispensable element of Russian home life, personifying comfort, tranquility, intelligence, and ingenuity.

Cats in modern folklore

In modern folklore, cats are considered one of the guardians of comfort. Often during a housewarming party, the cat is the first one allowed into the house. Also, due to the ability of cats to land on their feet when falling, they are often said to have a special “sixth sense” and that they have nine lives. There is a superstition that black cats are harbingers of bad luck, especially if such a cat crosses someone's path. There is also an opinion that if a black cat lives in a house, then it is good luck. A significant part of folklore is associated with the traditions and characteristics of the names (nicknames) of cats.

Some other signs:

If a cat sleeps with its nose covered with its paw, there will be a cold snap.
If a cat washes its face, guests will come soon (“the cat washes the guests”)
When moving to a new place of residence, the cat should be the first to enter the new house.

Thus, in modern folklore, a large place is given to the image of a cat; many signs, beliefs and superstitions are associated with them.