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The Cait Sidhe are cat shapeshifters. They are ruled by no court but their own after petitioning Oberon for independence.[1][2] They control the forgotten places and walk the shadows. The Cait Sidhe live in Courts that are looser alliances than the Divided Courts, and each Cait Sidhe answers to a single King or Queen.

History[]

Unlike other fae races, the Cait Sidhe have three Firstborn who claim different lines from the Three Creators of Faerie: Erda the Queen, Jibvel the Prince, and Malvic the King. Although they were descended from different bloodlines, they chose to unite their people single empire rather than holding them apart.

Erda anchored the Shadow Roads. Malvic created the Court of Cats out of lost things. Jibvel had the power to see through illusions and passed it on to his descendants.[3]

About[]

Characteristics/Nature[]

  • Though personalities vary, they are always smug, aloof, and dangerous.
  • They take lovers infrequently and generally do not remain with them.[4]
  • Most Cait Sidhe can access the Shadow Roads, cast illusions, and change forms. Some, however, are too weak.
  • They can see through illusions (often unintentionally), particularly in cat form.[5]
  • Because they are descended from three different Firstborn, their magical signatures may vary more than other fae races.

Habitat[]

Physical Description[]

  • Feline forms may have the patterning of any mortal cat
  • Humanoid form still has cat-slit pupils and may include tails, ears, etc depending on the an individual's control.
  • Some cats are able to use a between-form with catlike teeth and claws; used for combat
  • Cait Sidhe can choose to let their feline pattern on their humanoid skin if they are comfortable, and this might happen against their will if they are too stressed[6]
  • Some do not shift between forms, remaining fully bipedal or fully feline.

Other Details[]

  • The Cait Sidhe value their changelings more than most other fae races. They keep track of their changeling children who are out in the world, and welcome them into their Courts. Strays and housecats are often Cait Sidhe, and even mortal cats can communicate with their fae counterparts and are considered part of their Courts.[1]
  • Kittens, even changeling kittens, are highly valued. Royal cats are rare enough that royal kittens are typically asked to join a court rather than be born into it.[1]
  • Traditional greetings among the Cait Sidhe are ‘kind fires and good hunting,’ or ‘warm shadows and open doors.’[3]
  • Faerie superstition goes that, so long as a cat exists, the memory of the fae will go on.
  • Changelings are better at recognizing Cait Sidhe than pureblood fae, perhaps because of the liminal existence they both share.[7]

Royal Cats[]

Kings and Queens of Cats do not come from a single line- the title is a measure of strength, and indicates a relatively rare certain set of skills.[8] A Royal Cat "must be able to travel the Shadow Roads without hindrance; carry others with them; transform from cat to human and back again, without any unwanted traits bleeding over from one shape to another; cast basic illusions; open doors between the deepest Court of Cats and the Summerlands; create Courts by hewing small spaces out of the Shadows and keeping them open, essentially as temporary shallowings, until they are no longer needed; command loyalty; and die and come back."[8] Royal cats remain so whether or not they hold a Court. Due to the rarity of Royal kittens, Kings and Queens of Cats tend to adopt potential heirs and train them[8], and most banish the kittens' birth family to prevent conflicts of interest.[9]

Each King or Queen that oversees a Court does so alone. While most areas will have both a King and Queen, they rarely have courts in the same city.[8]

Kings and Queens take their thrones through combat. However, since heirs are adopted and groomed for leadership, the fight is generally not as serious as it would be if the King or Queen didn't already intend to cede the throne. It's rare for a sitting King or Queen who hasn't become a total despot to be forcibly deposed.[8] Their rites of ascension are all barbarous and bloody—a royal kitten is not considered worthy for ascension if they can't hold their own in a fight. Roving Kings do not challenge Court with a Prince who might yet take it.[10]

A Prince/Princess of Cats changes their name when they become a King/Queen.[11]

The ritual words of ascension when a predecessor is killed are:

The King is dead.

The Prince has died slaying him.
Who claims the crown?"
(New name), King of (Court name) Cats.

Characters[]

Main article: Court of Cats

Cait Sidhe in Mythology[]

The Cait Sidhe is a fairy creature from Celtic mythology, said to resemble a large black cat with a white spot on its breast, as large as a dog, with an arched back.

There were many beliefs about the Cait Sidhe, few of them good. Some believed that it could steal a person's soul before it was claimed by the Gods by passing over a corpse before burial; therefore watches called the Feill Fadalach (Late Wake) were performed night and day to keep the Cat Sìth away from a corpse before burial. Methods of "distraction" such as games of leaping and wrestling, catnip, riddles, and music would be employed to keep the Cat Sìth away from the room in which the corpse lay. In addition, there were no fires where the body lay, as it was legend that the Cat Sìth was attracted to the warmth.[12]

Some people believed that the Cat Sìth was a witch that could transform voluntarily into its cat form and back eight times. If one of these witches chose to go back into their cat form for the ninth time, they would remain a cat for the rest of their lives. It is believed by some that this is how the idea of a cat having nine lives originated.[12]

On Samhain, it was believed that a Cat Sìth would bless any house that left a saucer of milk out for it to drink, but those houses that did not let out a saucer of milk would be cursed into having all of their cows' milk dry.[12]

Quotes[]

  • "There’s some question as to whether man domesticated the cat, or whether the Cait Sidhe domesticated man and decided to share the spoils of our labor with our little mortal cousins. Whatever the reality, the truth of the matter is that where there are men, there have always been cats, and cream, and Cait Sidhe hiding their true nature behind a purr."[10]

External References[]

References[]

Types of Fae (Browse All)
Creator
MaeveOberonTitania
Habitat
AirFireLandSea
Physiology
Animal FeaturesCreaturesShapeshiftersSkin-ShiftersWinged
Appeared in Series
AdheneAes SidheAfancAlmereBannickBansheeBaobhan SithBarghestBarrow WightBlodynbrydBogeyBridge TrollCait SidheCandelaCentaurCephaliCeryneian HindCetaceChangelingCoblynauCu SidheDaoine SidheDóchas SidheDopplegangerDryadEllyllonFetchFirstbornFollettiGean-CannahGlastigGremlinGwragenHamadryadHippocampusHobKelpieKitsuneLamiaMerrowManticoreNight-hauntPeriPixiePucaRaven-maidRedcapRoaneRose GoblinSatyrSelkieShyi ShuaiSileneSirenTuatha de DannanTylwyth TegUndine


"This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Cat Sith which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 (view authors). Wikipedia-logo-v2
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