Cat Gods, Goddesses, Deities, and Demons: A Guide to Feline Folklore and Mythology

by Natalie Bovis, Lucy Rose (illustrator)

Discover 51 of the most common and not-so-common cat gods, goddesses, deities, and demons from around the world and how to incorporate their Divine Feline Energy into your daily life.

Throughout time, felines have played a sacred role in human life. Archeologists have found cat remains buried with humans as far back as the tenth millennium BCE in Cyprus, and the Greek goddess Hecate is said to have regularly assumed the form of a cat. Hieroglyphics tell us that ancient Egyptians worshipped cat gods, and their queen Cleopatra had a kitty companion in her palace whom she called Tivali. A Chinese cat goddess called Li Shou is said to have protected farmers from mice, and Ai Apaec was a pre-Inca god with fangs and whiskers said to have descended from an even more ancient cat god.

This book is more than a guide to ancient cat gods. It’s an exploration of the way humans have observed, interacted with, learned from, and revered another species who share the Earth with us. Ancient folklore is rife with examples of animal cunning and compassion, and many humans invoked other species as spiritual guides or flat out worshipped them as gods. Arguably, cats are the most intriguing of animals because of how we can relate to them. Much like us, they are free spirits and adaptable survivors. We admire them for their dignity, independence, and ferocity.

In this gorgeously illustrated guidebook, you’ll meet 51 feline deities and demons from four geographical families around the world—Africa, Americas, Asia, and Europe. You’ll also encounter mystical cats who work in alliance with human gods and goddesses. The feline entities come from different eras and cultures all over the world. Some are angelic guides, and others, demonic adversaries, but all play a role in our understanding of feline deities and why they became to be so. Learn all about these sacred godlike creatures, including what they look like, what they symbolize, and how you can use their spirit and ancient wisdom to tap into your own Divine Feline Energy.

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, Audiobook, History, Adult, Folklore, Cats

168 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 2025

Reviews

[Chelsea Salisbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many names to be able to remember anything, but interesting to listen to..

[J · Rating 1 out of 5]

From a Christian religious standpoint this is one of those what the dark heck did I just read books and from just a spiritual standpoint a book still meant to be steered clear of.

Cat Gods, Goddeses, Deities & Demons takes a look at the spiritual body that some of us call God and others qi while providing it with a themed name (Divine Feline Energy) whose validation comes from the various man-made deities with cat ties of some sort or another. Basically the Flying Spaghetti Monster on catnip.

The book takes a look into various supernatural beings through all ages and cultures while breaking down their place in that culture, what they meant to said culture and then ending up with a cheery moral lesson that the reader can take away.

The book uses these entries to also explore her own translation of political views, both rather openly and in some cases in between the lines.

But even if you are into New Age and selecting your own pantheon I ask you to be wary since the author happily offers you as a portal to demons while wrapping it and other dark themes in shiny wrapping paper. Take for example human sacrifice of young soldiers in indigenous cultures should be seen as martyrdom even when most examples of history prove otherwise or that demonic cats can help us to improve ourselves.

Meanwhile the book is rife with wrong information and what is also with the title as the first three quarters is basically repetitive?

The red flag of infactual information appeared in the Introduction when she mentions deer running across the Africa savanna. Other similar non-deity issues is we don't have buffalo in North America or jaguars have spots like leopards and less like cheetahs.

Deities-wise she combines the Asian Middle Eastern gods with Africa whose main theme seem to be related otherwise to Ancient Egyptian pantheon. The African Agassu is then tucked into the Americas as one of the cultural-fusion gods. And the similar groups of cat sí and cat sìth are provided as separate entities.

Meanwhile Aslan is included as the only literary and modern take while also leaving out notable folklore based wampus cats, splintercats and ball-tailed cats.

And then there are just the inaccuracies: Hathor is more a cow goddess rather than a lion although Sekhmet is meant in some cases to be her wild side. And talking about said Sekhmet she didn't massacre people since she was finding her footing in the mortal world but was sent to destroy mankind until Ra had a change of heart due to her violence. And the indirectly mentioned Nut isn't a god but a goddess.

On the Grecian side the author mentioned that Artemis was recognized for her wildly outrageous relationships when she is one of the three virgin goddesses of that pantheon and that the mortal Galinthias was changed into a cat as punishment for hindering Hera in postponing Hercules' birth as the love child of Zeus and Alcmene. First of all if you are disguising yourself as a woman's husband to get in her bed does that constitute any resulting offspring as a love child? And secondly Galinthias stopped Eileithyia on the demands of Hera while being changed into a weasel while the last I checked cats and weasels are not even closely the same species.

And so clearly disgusted with this book I close its covers and send it on its own perverse way to agitate someone else while hoping at the same time to prevent another hapless soul from tormenting themselves with it.

[Thomas W · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about culturally significant feline deities feels like something someone (in this case, Natalie Bovis) would write specifically for me. It's one of those things that I see or learn about and suddenly realize I cannot believe I've lived my entire 40+ years without it.

This book is not only informative but also warmly, sweetly entertaining. The author does a great job of highlighting various cultures from around the world, giving brief spaces to the most significant cat god, goddess, and/or demon from those locations.

Caveat: My enjoyment of this book was, however, limited to just the audiobook version (thank you, Libro.fm, for the ALC). I don't know if it was because I received an ALC and not a paid-for audiobook file, but there was no accompanying pdf with the illustrations from the book. But, saying that, I'm not sure there will be an accompanying pdf on release day.

The audiobook experience was a fun, fine experience. But, I'll be pre-ordering this and its supplemental oracle deck as soon as I submit this review.

[Jester · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. I’m glad I came across this.

The book did deliver what it intended—to be more than a guide—but even then, it all seemed surface-level. If readers are looking for deeper information about any of the felines mentioned, they’ll have to look elsewhere.

Other than that, it is understandable given the number of felines mentioned.

It all felt like something originally published on Kindle, with that kind of quality. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

Note: Using new rating system starting 2025.

[Bethany Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This audiobook touched on many cats in mythology and history throughout the world. As a cat lover, I enjoyed learning about different cats and their legends, but I found the layout and narration a bit monotonous. Also, the phrase "divine feline energy" was used so often I felt like making a drinking game out or it and the reflections at the end of each chapter felt a bit twee.

Overall, it's a decent collection and I appreciate the research gone into it, but it's not one I plan to revisit. Thank you to Libro FM and Hachette audio for the ALC

[Groucho42 · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book that tries to hard. A small, nicely bound hardback that has a page or two on a number of cat deities. The main problem is that the author tries to add some New Agey messages for the current day rather than leave it alone to descriptions. Also, while not her fault, there aren't many way to represent cat deities, so a lot of them seemed repetitive. Then there's the Eurotrash issue of taking North and South America as one place while fantasizing that Europe isn't just Western Asia.

[Catherine Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know that condition that makes you like obsessed with your cat in an unhealthy way? This author might have that. This was a fun read if you want to learn how many times divine feline energy can be said in less than 4 hours. Informative but a bit out there.

[Mortisha Cassavetes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about cats! The myths behind them, how they were thought to be goddesses, and the folklore spoken about them. Some are good and some are ferocious. How cats help humans and how they bring upon destruction. I definitely recommend this book for all cat lovers.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun little intro for people who are interested in some of the history behind cats and some of the cultures that have befriended and or worshipped them over time. Not in-depth and I didn't fact check, but the audiobook was fun to listen to.

[Alli Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mythology was great! The everyday practical application was hit or miss.

[Isabella (Belleand_books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really a 3.5. This was interesting but honestly I felt like it was just a snippet more than anything and I wanted more than 2 pages of information for everyone.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Educational and fun to read.
Beautiful illustrations and the perfect amount of information for each deity.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an enjoyable little book. There were some gods and goddesses I hadn't heard of before. I hope to find another similar book.

[Jake De · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting read