History? Snooze. Cat history? Now we’re talking. Before you scroll past… Yes, this is about history. But wait! It’s cat history. Stay with us.
We’re celebrating International Cat Day with the launch of our new FREE game Kimchi: A Stars in the Trash story! In this new adventure, you’ll join Kimchi on a journey through the Cat History Museum, which is full of curious cat facts, feline folklore and whisker-worthy wonders.
Here’s a quick guide to help you spot what’s inside the museum.
EGYPT
As you probably know, in Ancient Egypt cats basically ran the show.
Efficient pest control and undeniably cute companions, cats were respected, pampered, adored and legally protected: hurting a cat could land you in serious trouble.
Even crocodiles knew who was calling the shots and who not to mess with.
BASTET
One of the best-known feline icons of the time was the goddess Bastet: a deity with the body of a woman and the head of a cat. Graceful, watchful and deeply protective, Bastet was a symbol of home, fertility and purring affection.
How deeply cats were loved and revered can be seen in the thousands of embalmed and mummified cats that have been found in Egypt, some of them even in their own tiny sarcophagi. Even when they passed away, Egyptians tried their best to give their cats VIP access to the afterlife.
JAPAN
It is believed that the first cats landed in Japan in the 6th century, when they were first brought over from China to keep Buddhist texts safe from hungry mice. Since then, things have only escalated.
Elegant, silent, mysterious, and equally adorable and terrifying…. Cats spellbound the country from the very beginning and its presence became immediately pervasive, spread through paintings, poems, novels and kabuki plays. It is not an overstatement that Japan’s feline fascination runs deep… and sometimes, delightfully weird.
MANEKI-NEKO
You’ve seen it everywhere, waving and welcoming you from temples to sushi bars. Maybe you ignored it, or just considered it as a cutie polite cat. But this iconic cat, the maneki-neko, has been summoning good fortune for centuries.
According to the legend, a poor monk took in a stray calico cat. One day, a feudal lord that sought shelter under a tree during a storm saw a cat waving at him, raising his paw insistently. The man, intrigued, followed the cat and, at the very moment he left the shelter of the tree, a thunder fell upon it. Grateful (and very much alive) the lord honored the cat by funding a temple in its name, and it just took time for the legend to be widely spread and for those little figures to become a symbol of protection and luck.
Because let’s be honest: who could say no to a cat waving at you?
BAKENEKO
Wait, cats dancing with towels on their heads? Nope, you’re not hallucinating. In Japan, the fascination with cats goes way beyond cuddly roommates. In folklore, cats (along with foxes and tanuki) are mysterious creatures said to develop supernatural powers over time. In the case of cats, any cat whose lifespan has gone beyond 12 to 13 years could develop superpowers. There are many types of kaibyō (supernatural cats) but in Kimchi: A Stars in the Trash Story, we’ve chosen to highlight one of the most intriguing: the shapeshifter, the bakeneko.
Back in the Edo period, people believed that placing something on an animal head could awaken magical powers. Tanuki wore leaves… and cats towels or napkins. With these new unlock abilities they could speak human languages, shapeshift into humans (sometimes to take revenge, others to sneak into a bar and get a drink), speak and blend seamlessly in society or stand and dance with their hind legs… just to be mischievous.
But why would a cat put a towel on its head and throw a secret neighbourhood party? Well, folklore does not need to make any sense. But this idea was so popular it even inspired a kabuki play.
What we can boil down to is that if a cat lives long enough… don’t be surprised if it starts walking upright and inviting some other neighbourhood cats to a party.
CAT HALL OF FAME
Besides our stroll through cats’ ancient history we also reserved a special place for some of the most iconic cats from the last few decades.
BOB THE STREET CAT
This orange tabby cat became world-famous after befriending James Bowen, a street musician recovering from addiction. The two became inseparable, with Bob calmly sitting on James’s shoulder as he performed and sold newspapers around London.
Their story went viral, leading to a bestselling book, but most importantly, Bob became a symbol of how a feline companion can truly change your life for the better.
MR FRESH
Mr. Fresh is an orange cat who became a viral sensation on the Chinese app Hello Street Cat. This app live-streams street cats in various cities, where viewers can donate to feed them while watching them eat in real-time.
Mr. Fresh earned his nickname because he only eats freshly dispensed food and has a habit of staring at the camera until viewers donate more food. Sometimes he even taps the camera with his paw to ask for fresh food. Occasionally, you might spot him peeking his head near the sides of the feeders to check if other cats are around. His side-eye has become a viral meme, and since his debut in August 2023, he’s accumulated millions of views and likes on TikTok and other platforms.
TOWSER
This long haired tortoise shell cat became an immortal legend. Working non-stop for 24 years Towser kept free of mice the Glenturret distillery. According to estimates, she caught around three mice per day, adding up a total of 28.899 mice throughout her life!
She became such a celebrity that she earned a spot in the Guinness Book of Records, got her own statue outside the distillery… and even left her paw print on one of their whisky labels!
No doubt Towser has been the most efficient and committed employee a whisky distillery has ever had.
FÈLICETTE
Félicette has earned her own place in history by being the first (and only) cat to travel to space. She was a stray from the streets of Paris, chosen from a group of 14 cats to go through full astronaut training.
The mission was a success and Fèlicette returned safely to Earth with her nine lives intact. Nonetheless, she wasn’t celebrated like other space animals at the time, and it wasn’t until 2019 when a crowdfunding campaign in France led to the creation of a bronze statue in her honor.
It took decades, but Fèlicette finally got the recognition she deserved: the one and only astrocat.
MOKA
We couldn’t leave Moka out of this gallery. Brave and loyal, he faces countless dangers and enemies to protect his friends and find his way back home safely.
You can learn more about his story here and discover the original game that started it all here.
TIKA & SULLY
This pair of rascals truly stole our hearts so of course we had to include them in our gallery.
Despite having a complicated sibling relationship, they both inspired and guided our project. Forcing us to take a breaks and have a stroll, having a nap with us and asking for cuddles… Each one, with their very own personality, have fueled, solaced and comforted us through all the years the project took to be concluded. You can learn more about them here.
I hope you enjoyed this newsletter. Did you catch all the references when you played Kimchi: A Stars in the Trash Story?
Have a wonderful International Cat Day,
Jose
