‌Are there cat demons in Journey to the West?

If you visit the Forbidden City in Beijing, you might encounter cats. It is said that nearly 200 cats live there.

For over 600 years, since the Ming Dynasty, cats have been raised in the palace. A special institution managed these royal felines, known as the ‌”Imperial Cat Chamber”‌. The most cat-loving emperor in history was ‌Emperor Jiajing‌. He adored cats and collected ones with unique patterns. His two favorite cats were named Shuangmei and Lion.

Shuangmei acted as Emperor Jiajing’s personal guard, accompanying him constantly. When the emperor rested, Shuangmei stayed by his side, waiting for him to wake before eating or relieving itself. Both cats received grand burials after death. Emperor Jiajing even wrote an epitaph for Shuangmei and commissioned a golden coffin for Lion.

Now, returning to the question: ‌Are there cat demons in Journey to the West?‌ Interestingly, the novel was written during Emperor Jiajing’s reign. However, due to cultural beliefs of the time, ‌no cat demons appear‌ in Journey to the West. The story features demons such as tigers, deer, goats, snakes, bulls, scorpions, centipedes, lions, elephants, rats, foxes, rabbits, and spiders, but ‌no feline spirits‌. The “wild cat” mentioned in the novel is actually a ‌nickname for a tiger‌, reflecting the symbolic blending of animal traits in folklore.

‌Why no cat demons?‌

In Ming-era China, just like dogs, cats were often seen as auspicious guardians against rodents and evil spirits, not as malevolent entities. This cultural reverence likely influenced the absence of cat demons in the epic, contrasting with tigers (symbols of power) and foxes (associated with trickery) that dominate its demon pantheon.