Today I bought a cat, a 2.4 feet (excluding tail) Bengal cat
that was shivering in its cage in a pet store. The initial plan was to buy a
bird cage and leave, but this cat caught my attention not only because it was a
cat, it was also a cheap cat. I made the impulsive decision and bought the cat
alongside with the cage and left and I must confess that I have spent majority
of my day trying to adjust my cat to the house. However, this didn’t stop me
from doing my usual investigations into controversial matters in Nigeria and
today I want to focus on the unconventional Nigerian pet called the cat.
There are many legends and superstition surrounding cats in
Africa and these are especially negative in Nigeria. The Tsavos (Kenyan tribe)
have a positive view on cats, considering that they believed only those of
royal bloodline and god/goddesses can manifest themselves in such graceful
creatures. It was reported in Tsavo Man-Eaters
case that a pair of male lions without manes and larger than most other lions slaughtered
a group of railway workers constructing the Kenya-Uganda railway. Historic
witnesses have said that the two lions must have been reincarnates of dead
kings that have come back to stop European exploits in their land.
 |
| Tsavo Lions Depiction in Field Museum of Natural History |
Another African tribe that has a positive view on cats is
the Ancient-Egyptians, whom have attributed the Mau cat to the goddesses Isis and Ba’at. Isis as the goddess of
motherhood, nature and magic and Ba’at as the goddess of cats, protection, joy,
dance, music, family
 |
| Bast (Ba'at) |
However, as we leave northern and eastern Africa and delve
further west the stories begin to change. The Ewe people make up the major
ethnic group in Togo (32%), third largest in Ghana (14%) and minorities in
Southern Benin, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. The Ewe people consider the cat a
delicacy and eating the cat head is said to bring good luck and prevent them
from dying in a foreign land. Even with this Ewe people’s sway in Ghana, the
average Ghanaian associates the cat with evil and witchcraft. Seeing a black
cat in one’s dreams is considered a bad omen.
In Nigeria specifically there are many people who are uncomfortable
with cats, echoing the belief that they are associated with demons and agents
of evil forces. I know for one that Nollywood has contributed a gigantic deal
into this belief, but who can blame them? The culture of a Nigerian will
reflect somehow somewhere.
In June 2016 there was a report of a cat who transformed to
a girl at dawn in Ibadan around Ring Road. It was said that she was smelling poignantly
of animal excretions and was seen in the store of a house at that area before
the sun came up. Of course, no one had any pictures of this ‘transformation’
but they said it transformed to a young girl before they could kill her. Report
was from www.informationng.com.
With all these negativity surrounding cats, it is no
surprise why the average Nigerian will not want to invest time, food and money
into keeping them. However, dogs are very popular in Nigeria with nearly 70% of
household communities owning one or more at one time or the other. However an
approximation of 60% of Nigerian dog owners gets dogs for security purposes. A
cat will not provide you security, so it defies logic for the cat to become
more popular than a dog here.
My short time with Iyré (my Bengal cat) has proven to be
truly a nice and fulfilling adventure. He loves roaming the house and has
gotten accustomed to people touching him. I am sure he will come to be a loved
member of the family if he is not already.
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