The animal itself
Cats are the only common domestic animal that domesticated itself, moving into grain stores about 9 000 years ago in the Near East. They were never bred for a task, which is visible in the behaviour.1 of 2 calendars · 2,490 searches a month
Cat
Independence and quiet observation.
Which calendar assigns it, and when
Celtic calendar
21 January – 17 February
Its tree
Rowan
Only the Celtic calendar assigns this one. Anyone born in these dates gets a different animal from the other system — the two agree on 4.7% of days →
What it stands for, and where that came from
Independence and quiet observation — presence without obligation.
Honoured in: Egyptian Bastet; Japanese maneki-neko as fortune; medieval Europe as the witch's familiar, which cost the animal centuries.
The symbolism usually grew out of the behaviour rather than the other way round — which is the part worth keeping when the rest is set aside.