Cat Sidhe
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- For the Final Fantasy VII character, see Cait Sith (Final Fantasy VII)
Cat Sidhe or Cait Sith (pronounced caught shee) is a fairy creature from Celtic mythology said to resemble a large black cat with a white spot on its breast. It was said to haunt the Scottish Highlands. Some common folklore suggested that the Cait Sidhe was not a fairy, but a transformed witch.
The myths surrounding this creature are more common in Scottish Folklore, but a few myths originate in Irish folklore as well.
This comes from the root words "Cait", which meant "Cat" in both Irish and Scottish Gaelic, and Sidhe, which is the word for faery folk or other otherworldly beings.
It is possible that the legends of the Cait Sidhe were inspired by sightings of a rare breed of cat, known in modern times as the Kellas Cat.
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[edit] In videogames
The Cait Sidhe has been incorporated into a number of popular Japanese video games, such as Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VII. Video game appearances include:
- An enemy "Cait Sith", in Final Fantasy IV Advance on the Gameboy Advance.
- A genjuu, or Esper, in Final Fantasy VI. (The original English localization changed the name to "Stray".)
- A remote-controlled toy cat who rides a stuffed robotic moogle, and also playable character called Cait Sith in Final Fantasy VII.
- A weapon for the character Lulu in Final Fantasy X.
- A costume, Rikku's "Mascot" Dressphere, in Final Fantasy X-2.
- A playable character in Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus. In the game he speaks with a Scottish accent.
- A mischievous cat-like demon in Princess Maker, but whether or not this is really a reference to the Cait Sidhe of legend is debatable.
- A pair of Siamese cat-like opponents in the puzzle game Puyo Puyo Tsu.
- A recruitable demon in Atlus's Megami Tensei games. Cait Sith commonly resembles Puss-in-Boots in these games.
- The cat of a woman owning a candy store in the game Kingdom Hearts II. This brief cameo takes place near the beginning of the game, in Twilight Town.
- A default enemy in RPG maker 95,RPG maker 2000, and RPG maker 2003.
- It has also made appearances in other video games, such as Culdcept, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, and Disgaea 2.
[edit] In animation
In the animated film Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, the Cait Sith was represented by a cat who rides the character Red XIII, voiced with a heavy Scottish accent in the English audio and dissimilar Scottish phrasing on English subtitle tracks. The robotic moogle was omitted because it was more difficult to animate.
[edit] In manga
In the Japanese manga series 'Aria', the main character Akari Mizunashi discovers that Cait Sith is the leader of a festival in her town.
One of the Western Shinma that attacks in 'New Vampire Miyu' by Narumi Kakinouchi is named Cait Sith.
In the manga 'Black Cat', Annette's cafe is named 'Cait Sidh'.
In Maho Sensei Negima, Albert Chamomile is a Cait Sith of the ermine family.
[edit] Katakana representation
The name "Cait Sith" is represented in the Japanese katakana alphabet as ケット・シー (ketto shī). This indicates an intended pronunciation, while perhaps not entirely accurate, of [kɛt ʃi]. With Sith being Sidhe (In Gaelic), Sidhe is pronounced 'Shee', in the same fashon as Shī (In Japanese). Pronunciation here is only lost through the Romanization.
[edit] See also
- List of fictional cats
- Cu Sith
- Phantom Cat
[edit] External links
- The Scottish Big Cat Trust An article on the Kellas cat.
