Weather
It’s A Cat Thermostat
Fun!
The Prophetic Cat Sneeze
Some Italians believed that a cat sneeze meant good fortune for all who heard it.
In other parts of the world, a cat sneeze on the morning of a wedding meant the couple would have a happy marriage. On any other day, however, it signaled rain.
If a cat sneezed three times in a row, some were convinced that everyone in the house would come down with a cold.
(At my house, a cat sneeze is prophetic of the need to dust!)
Raining Cats and Dogs
Where does the expression “Raining Cats and Dogs” come from?
Some authorities tie the idea to Norse mythology. Odin, the Viking god of storms, was often pictured with dogs and wolves, symbols of wind. Witches, who supposedly rode their brooms during storms, had black cats, which became signs of heavy rain. Therefore, “raining cats and dogs” referred to a storm with wind (dogs) and heavy rain (cats).
While the story sounds good, the expression didn’t become popular until the 1700s, when Jonathan Swift (author of Gulliver’s Travels) used it in a satire. He pictured snobby upper class aristocrats solemnly fretting that it would “rain cats and dogs”. Suddenly the saying caught on. Apparently, the English spent a lot of time chatting about rain and it was the latest hit phrase.
More recently, this bit of contemporary “folklore” distributed in a hoax email put forth the following idea, which has since been disproved:
In the 1500’s, houses had thatched roofs – thick straw, piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the pets… dogs, cats and other small animals, mice, rats, bugs lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, “It’s raining cats and dogs.”
Borrowed from: Sigils Symbols and Signs
Ailuromancy – Divination With Cats
Ailuromancy or aeluromancy , also known as felidomancy, is a form of theriomancy. It is divination using cats’ movements or jumps to predict future events, especially the weather.
Cats have been revered as magical since the time of the ancient Egyptians. One of the most common methods of ailuromancy utilizes the movements and behaviors of a cat to predict upcoming weather patterns.
Weather forecasting With Cats:
- A cat washing itself is believed to be a forecast of rain.
- If a cat sneezes it will rain.
- If the cat turns its tail to a fire or any substituting heat source, it foretells a possible change in weather, particularly the coming of heavy rain or hard frost.
- If a cat sits with its back to the fire, it is a sure sign of frost.
- If a cat curls up with its forehead touching the ground, it indicates that storms will happen in the near future.
Other forecasts:
- To see a cat wash behind its ears is a sign that a visitor will call.
- If a fisherman’s wife keeps a black cat in her house, her man will return safely from sea.
Gloom and doom:
- If a cat leaves a house when there is illness within, and will not be coaxed back, the sick person will die.
- A sick person will die if he or she dreams of cats or sees two cats fighting.
- If a cat sneezes three times in a row, everyone in the family will come down with a cold.
Your cat may also assist in divination:
Leave a door open and think of a question that can be answered yes or no. Call your cat into the room and notice which paw it first places on the floor. If it is the right forepaw, the answer is yes; if the cat steps with the left, the answer is no.
Borrowed from: Divination
Weather Forecasting – Feline Style
In almost every country where they were known, cats were believed to have mystical powers, and among other things, to be able to foretell and control the weather. Here is a list of what can be expected weather-wise based on cat behavior and actions:
- When cats run about wildly, or claw at carpets and cushions, wind is coming.
- A cat sleeping with all four paws tucked under means bad weather is coming.
- When the pupil of a cat’s eye broadens, there will be rain.
- A cat washing itself is believed to be a forecast of rain.
- To throw a cat overboard causes an immediate storm at sea.
- If a cat sneezes it will rain.
- If the cat turns its tail to a fire or any substituting heat source, it foretells a possible change in weather, particularly the coming of heavy rain or hard frost.
- If a cat sits with its back to the fire, it is a sure sign of frost.
- If a cat curls up with its forehead touching the ground, it indicates that storms will happen in the near future.
- If a cat continually looks out a window on any day, rain is on the way.
- Sailors believed that if a cat licked its fur against the grain it meant a hailstorm was coming; if it sneezed, rain was on the way; and if it was frisky, the wind would soon blow.
- A German belief says that mistreating a cat can cause a rainstorm to occur on the clothes you’ve hung out to dry.
- It was a popular belief that cats could start storms through magic stored in their tails – so sailors always made sure that they were well-fed and contented.
- If a cat licks its fur in the opposite way that it naturally lies, there will be significant rain.
- Alternatively, if the cat calmly and smoothly washes itself, expect fair weather.
- Forgetting to feed your cat on your wedding day is an invitation to the rain.
- To see a cat eating grass foretells rain.
- Anyone who makes cats his enemy is certain to be accompanied to the grave with wind and rain.
- If the cat tears of the cushions or carpet with its claws, it is a sign that wind is coming, as we say, “the cat is raising the wind“.
- If cats are playing in the house and an unusually lively way, windy or stormy weather is approaching.
- If the cat while washing its face draws its paw over its forehead it is a sign of good weather. If not, it means speedy rain.
- Indonesians and Malays believe that if you wash your cat it will bring rain.
Borrowed from: Divination
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