Bakeneko and Nekomata

     The Japanese seem to have a dread of cats with tails.  One such cat is the bakeneko or "monster cat". A cat may become a bakeneko in a number of ways: it may live to be over ten years old, grow to over eight pounds, or be allowed to keep a long tail.  Cats that were caught drinking lamp oil were also considered to be bake-neko. (Because the old fashion lamp oil was made from fish, many cats may have regularly been caught drinking lamp oil!)  If the cat is allowed to keep its long tail, the tail will fork into two and the bakeneko is then called a nekomata ("forked cat").

     The bakeneko will cause all sorts of mischief and mayhem including creating ghostly fireballs, menacing sleepers, walking on its hind legs, eating temple offerings, shape-shifting into human form, and even devouring its own mistress in order to shape-shift and take her place. Disguised as a beautiful women, bakeneko will trick their male owners into marrying them so they can have children. When a bakeneko is finally killed (usually with a sword), its body may be as much as five feet in length.

     Even the dead are not safe, since the cat can re-animate a fresh corpse by running over it!  

     Because of the stories about the bakeneko the Japanese people may cut their cat’s tail off to stop them from becoming a bakeneko.

The bakeneko also possess the power to enter dreams. Apparently, not all of them are evil and may actually protect and help their owners. In one tale, a bakeneko entered her owner's dream and told her to manufacture its image in clay in order to bring her wealth.