The Evolution of The Cat-Girl

It’s a known fact that anime artists generally like cats, so the inception of the cat-girl is no surprise, but the nature of cats surely plays a role as well. Cats have many important qualities that make them perfect for being combined with young women in hentai and anime.

There is something luxurious and sensual about cats, how they carefully clean their lithe bodies, strut around a home, and seem to look somehow mysterious. But cats are also cute and playful — getting into trouble, seeking pleasure and fun; and their perky ears and frisky tails are just too darn cute. Please excuse me, I’m having a cat moment. ^_~

Historically, cats have frequently been connected with women. In ancient Egypt, cats were linked with fertility and were considered the embodiment of the goddess Bastet. The Romans and Norse people picked up on this idea and cats were connected with their fertility goddesses as well (Artemis and Freya).

Fertility and sex were strongly associated with women because even what we might now consider our primitive ancestors, were able to recognise that having sex with a fertile woman led to babies — which was very important for cultivating the land, building civilizations and massing armies. This made women, with their sexuality and almost mystical fertility, important and valuable to these societies.

When Christianity started spreading across Europe, the cat (and women) maintained this association with sex, sensuality and fertility, but in a less positive light. This was a time when women were considered to be the weaker and sinful sex. The lustful mating behaviour and previous pagan associations made the cat an ideal symbol of Eve — who was now considered to be the first “sinful” woman.

For centuries, cats were used in European artwork to imply carnality, sensuality and temptation.

And, because of its association with sensuality and sex, the cat became the symbol of prostitution and courtesans in the 15th century.

Men in this era talked about chasing “cats tail” — this is where terms like “tail” and “pussy” (as applied to women and their genitalia) originated.

Even today, we still use terms like “sex kitten” in a play on the sensuality associated with both women and cats.

Cats were not just popular in ancient Europe, many other countries and cultures have prized the cat for thousands of years — and since they missed out on the European “re-education” of dark/middle ages, their cats (and women) did not tend to pick up any demonic associations.

In Japan cats were a favourite pet of the nobility and were connected with luck and good omens — today there is still a Buddhist temple in Japan dedicated to cats. In addition, many homes and businesses, even in North America, still display Maneki Neko statues of a cat with a raised paw, who welcomes good luck and fortune.

So, back to cat-girls and hentai.

A cat girl is essentially a girl/woman with cat ears. Sometimes they have a cat’s tail and/or whiskers. Cat-girls who want to look particularly cute will also wear big gloves and shoes or slippers that look like cat paws — but they do not usually have any fur on their bodies, aside from the ears and tail.

Because the main requirement to be a cat-girl is the ears, they are often called Nekomimi, which means “cat ears.”

Why do we like cat girls? In anime and especially in hentai, cat-girls are naughty, playful, and horny — what’s not to love? Maybe it’s because cats have been associated with women and sex and sensuality for so long that the cat-girl just seems to fit with our perceptions of playful sexuality. The cat-girl could be the personification of the sensual hedonist that lies inside every woman.

Oh! And there is also the suspicious similarity between semen and a saucer of cream. ^_~