When most of us want to know what the weather has in store for us, we look at the weather channel, accu-weather, the newspaper or local radio station. But what if none of those resources were available? You'd have little choice but to figure it out for yourself, using whatever methods were available for predicting the weather. Our ancestors often observed animals using their behavior as ways to predict what the sky had in store for us, and no animal seems to be used as much as the cat.

      When I think of weather I don't tend to think of my siamese Meesha. The closest she gets to outside is sitting on an open window hurling insults at passing birds, but still I could try out some of this feline folklore.

     Cats are extremely sensitive to their surroundings and over the years that has made them targets of suspicion. It's quite likely that these super sensitive perceptions are what made the connection between cats and witches. The cats senses so far exceed our senses that it does make the creature seem unusual, but can there be a feline barometer?

      Much of the feline forecasting folklore comes from the UK. The Scots tell us that when a cat sneezes, it will rain soon. Folks from Britain and Ireland got more specific and said that weather could be predicted by observing the way a cat washed itself. If a cat washed their face it meant rain was soon due, but given how often it rains over there, the odds are in favor that rain is due more than not! On the other hand,  an old English proverb goes like this:

 If a cat washes her face over her ear,
 'Tis a sign the weather will be fine and clear.

      Feline forecasters are not limited to the UK however. The folks from Iceland aren't concerned about the cat's grooming habits, but they do attach meaning to how the animal lies down. They used to believe that if a cat lies down with its paws stretched out in front of it that very bad storms were near. Meesha sometimes lays upside down with her paws stretched out in front, but I haven't noticed any bad weather in connection with it!

      A popular myth in the southern US tells us that if a cat eats grass it means rain and storm. My previous Siamese, Rosa, would spend most of her outdoor time grazing in grass (in fact I used to tease her, calling her a Siamese bovine!) If it rained every time she ate grass, we'd be worse off than the UK for rain!

      In a variation of forecasting, some folklore connects the cat with wind. Ancient Japan worshiped a wind god who took the form of a cat, who raked open the sky with its claws and brought rain.

      Sailors put great stock in cats and weather. Cats on ships not only took care of the rat problem, they amused the crew and were believed to be very good weather predictors. Some went so far as to believe that the cat controlled the weather. If sailors saw a cat chasing its tail or playing with a dangling rope it was said to be stirring up a wind. Some sailors believed that the cat carried a "gale in its tail" and could release it at will. These believers made very sure the ship's cat was never harmed or killed, lest the gale be released.

      Such folklore is little more than amusing, not to be taken seriously as forecasters. Sometimes though, a core of truth can be found in these tales. New Englanders thought that if one stroked the fur of a cat backwards and sparks flew, it meant cold dry weather. The sparks are static electricity, which is most common in dry weather, hence the bit of truth behind it! Meesha though, isn't ready to challenge accu-weather!