Cats in East European, and Eurasian Culture

Cats have taken over the internet, and rightfully so! Love for cats and their antics is a worldwide phenomenon and dates back far before the internet and cat memes. This page introduces famous cats in East European and Eurasian culture from areas like folklore, literature, history, and pop culture. You'll also learn some fun proverbs and sayings in difference languages related to cats and learn which breeds of cat originated in Eastern Europe and Eurasia.

 The list below is not exhaustive. We've chosen some of our favorites but can only assume there are more Eastern European and Eurasian cats deserving of fame out there. Now let's meet some of these famous felines!

Gacek 

Gacek, pronounced gats-ek, is a stray cat who lived on Kaszubska Street in Szczecin, Poland. He first started spending time on Kaszubska Street in 2013, and someone built a wooden shelter for him in 2015. In 2020, a video of Gacek by local news channel wSzczecinie went viral on social media leading tourists to come visit him at his usual hangout spot. Gacek means "long-eared bat" in Polish (Whitehead).

Dubbed the "King of Kaszubka Street," he became a tourist attraction from 2020 to 2023. Before it was removed, Gacek enjoyed a 5-star review on Google with over 2500 reviews, 500 of which appeared in the first 48 hours of the listing's addition to Google Maps (Whitehead). At one point he was the city's top-rated tourist attraction. People could come to Kaszubka street and purchase merchandise with Gacek's likeness. Reuters called him the "Kim Kardashian of the cat world" (Halliwell and Schoeman).

So many people came to visit and feed the rotund celebrity that it led to concerns about his health. A local animal shelter, Szczecin’s Animal Welfare Association (TOZ), asked visitors not to feed him and eventually intervened, treating him for joint and dental issues (Hughes). Gacek was eventually adopted and, to go with his trimmer healthier physique, was renamed George after George Clooney.

Though he no longer lives on Kaszubska Street, and therefore lost his status as a tourist attraction, Gacek is still bringing goodness into the world. There is a crowdfunding campaign called "Gacek buys food for the homeless" which helps pay for food for stray cats.

Filemon and Bonifacy

Filemon is the protagonist of the Polish animated series The Adventures of Filemon the Cat (Przygody kota Filemona). Filemon is a young and naive white kitten. Bonifacy, the other cat in the series, is an old and serious black cat. The show is a coming-of-age story that follows the young Filemon as he navigates the world under Bonifacy's supervision.

The show, which ran from 1972 to 1981, had 39 episodes. The name changed to The Adventures of Filemon the Cat after episode 13 (1977). Previously, the title was The Strange World of Filemon the Cat (Dziwny świat kota Filemona). Polish screenwriter Marek Nejman wrote the show and animation studio Sema-for in Łódź, Poland produced it.

There are sculptures in Łódź honoring the two cats from the series in the city square. Watch The Strange World of Filemon the Cat. Watch The Adventures of Filemon the Cat.

Polish Speaking Cats and a Cat Map of Poland?!

Culture.Pl compiled a Cat Map of Poland, which shows you the best feline-related places in the country. The list includes bookstores with resident cats, cat-themed murals and statues, cat cafes, and more.

Want to learn Polish with cats? Of course you do! Matilda Szydagis published the book All Cats Speak Polish in 2021. It is a children's book that teaches basic Polish phrases through a cat-centric story. The book also explores themes of community, personality, diversity, and language. Watch the author read the book aloud.

Hermitage cats: 

Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna (1709-1762), daughter of Peter the Great, learned that the city of Kazan was free of mice and rats thanks to a unique breed of cat. In 1745, Elizabeth had 30 Kazan cats taken to St. Petersburg to combat the rodent problem in the Winter Palace and protect her fabulous wardrobe from mice and rats. This was the first documented instance of cats' official work in the palace (Tarasova). There is a statue dedicated to the Cat of Kazan in the center of Kazan. The three-meter sculpture shows the cat luxuriating on a couch.

Catherine the Great established the art collection at the Hermitage. She issued an official order that enrolled the Hermitage cats into government service to protect the Hermitage collection from mice and rats. The museum holds an annual Hermitage Cat Day each spring to celebrate the animals and their work. Speaking of art, check out cats in Russian paintings.

You can follow the Hermitage Cats on Instagram at @Hermitagecats

There is a children's book titled Anna and the Hermitage Cats by Mary Ann Allin and Maria Haltunen published in 2013 that is based on a true story of an American girl who visits the Hermitage and tries to find a cat to sketch.

Kot Leopold

Leopold the Cat is the protagonist of a Soviet cartoon series that ran from 1975 to 1987. In the series, which consists of 11 episodes, Leopold has to deal with the antics of two mischievous mice. Leopold is an optimistic, polite, middle-aged intellectual. He abstains from alcohol and tobacco, always wears a bowtie, and never raises his voice. Leopold, ever the peace maker, is known for his catchphrase "Guys, let's all get along!" (Ребята, давайте жить дружно).

Begemot/Behemoth of The Master & Margarita

Begemot, also known as Behemoth, is a character from Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita, written between1928 and 1940. He is "a tom-cat...huge as a hog, black as soot or as a rook, and with a desperate cavalryman’s whiskers" (Bulgakov, 61), who walks on two legs, can speak, ride the tram by himself, and enjoys chess (though he cheats), drinking vodka, and setting fires. He is humorous and sarcastic and has a fondness for weapons and violence. 

Begemot is part of Professor Woland's retinue in the novel. Woland, a mysterious stranger who comes to Moscow, is considered an incarnation of Satan and his retinue are demons. Though the word begemot (бегемот) means hippopotamus in Russian, the character's name is from that of a demon in the Book of Job. 

Begemot is one of several members in Woland's retinue. The band of demons represented demonic figures/types from different places, times, and theories. Begemot, a representative of the animalistic who revels in food and drink, is a demon page ironically named "lord of cosmic Earth."

At the end of the novel, we learn that Begemot, "who had been a cat, entertaining the prince of darkness, now turned out to be a slim youth, a demon-page, the best jester the world has ever seen" (Bulgakov, 388).

Begemot does more than drink vodka and set fires, however. Liubov Nekrasova argues that "Behemoth lives between the world of animals and the world of human beings, the world of magic and the world of reality, the world of the dead and the world of the living" whose main purpose in the novel is to highlight communication and breakdowns of communication (Nekrasova, 65). 

Fun Fact!

There is a large black Siberian-Persian cat, named Behemoth, who resides at the Bulgakov House Museum in Moscow. Behemoth was cat-knapped from the museum in 2018 but was later returned.

Kot Baiyun (Кот Баюн)

Kot Baiyun is a character in Slavic magical tales who possess a magic voice. The word baiyun, which means talker/storyteller, comes from the verb bayat (баять) which means to speak/talk). 

Baiyun lives in a golden cage atop a golden pillar near an enchanted mill. He has the power to lull passersby to sleep with his songs and stories. Those who cannot resist his magic have to do battle with the magical cat, who can kill with iron claws. It's said that whoever can catch him will be safe from disease and other ailments, since his tales have healing powers (Korolev, 58). In one fairytale about Vasilisa the Beautiful, Baiyun lives with Baba Yaga.

The main tale about Kot Baiyun is one of many versions of the story "Go There, I know Not Where, Bring That, I Know Not What" «Пойди́ туда́ — не зна́ю куда́, принеси́ то — не зна́ю что» recorded by A. N. Afanasiev as tale 215 in his collection of Russian folktales (Korolev, 56). In the tale, a young man newly married is tasked with catching a magical cat (Baiyun). The young man's wife warns him that the cat can lull him to sleep, but he must resist. She supplies him with iron hats and gloves, as well as three metal poles to catch the animal.  He takes Baiyun to the Tsar, and the cat works in service of the Tsar from then on. Other versions of the tale exist which feature animals other than Baiuyn, such as a deer with golden horns (Korolev, 56).

Baiyun has a place in modern Russian culture as well. According to Kyrill Korolev, there have been more than a dozen fantasy novels published in the 21st century that feature the cat as a major character (Korolev, 55). A narrative adventure video game with RPG elements titled The Tales of Bayun came out in 2023.

Learned Cat (Кот ученый)

In the prologue of Aleksandr Pushkin's 1820 narrative poem Ruslan and Liudmila, there is a character called the learned cat (Кот ученый) which possesses many similarities to Baiyun. The cat lives in a green oak tree, walking along golden chains in the branches. He has the power to tell tales and sing songs.

Slavic Gods/Spirits and Cats

Veles/Volos is the Slavic Pagan God of the Earth, waters, underworld, and dream world. He is also the protector of livestock and domestic animals. It is believed that a cat was his sacred animal/companion. The cat was creator and destroyer (similar to Kot Baiyun's ability to heal or kill) as well as a guide between worlds and protector of the hearth (Zarenitsa).

Veles' cat was also associated with the Domovoy (Домовой), the household spirit. Thresholds and other liminal spaces are considered dangerous in Slavic folklore. Therefore, when a new house was built, it was customary to have a cat be the first to cross the new threshold. Cats, associated with the powerful Veles, would protect the new inhabitants from potential danger in this liminal space, taking the danger onto themselves instead. People would say to the cat as they let him in, "Here you are, master, a shaggy beast for a rich yard" (Вот тебе, хозяин, мохнатый зверь на богатый двор) (Koshki v Slavianskoi traditsii).

Another Slavic spirit associated with cats is the Obvinnik (Oвинник), a type of Domovoy tasked with protecting barns. Fires could occur in barns if other families' Ovninniki brought destruction through slander. The Obvinnik's job was to protect the barn from other Obvinniki. The Obvinniki always comes in the form of a black cat (Koshki v Slavianskoi traditsii).

Earth Cat (Земляная Кошка)/ Underground cat (Подземная Кошка)

In Ural folk belief, particularly in the lore of gold miners, there is a spirit in the form of a cat who guards an underground treasure in the mountains (Gura, 341). In P. Bazhov's collection of stories, The Malachite Box, there is a tale called "Cat Ears" about the underground cat.

Folk Beliefs and Superstitions

In Slavic folk belief, the cat plays many roles. It is often associated with the feminine and female sexuality. The cat and dog often symbolize female and male respectively. In Slavic demonology, the cat is also associated with death, demons, and vampires (Gura, 335). Cats are also closely tied to livestock, as mentioned in the earlier discussion of Veles.

Cats and dogs appear in many comparisons in different cultures. Slavic belief is no different. While cats are associated with the feminine, dogs are associated with masculinity. Cats are viewed as clean creatures, and dogs are considered dirty. Dogs were not traditionally let into the house. In Orthodox churches, animals were not allowed to enter, with the exception of cats, in part because of their ability to catch mice, but also because of their association with cleanliness.

There are two versions of the creation of the first cat. In one legend, the cat was created from a mitten which God or the Mother of God discarded. In another legend, the cat has a devil inside of it, and people even call black cats the devil (Gura, 338).

There are several folk beliefs/superstitions associated with cats in Slavic culture. The color of the cat, however, plays an important role. In many cultures, the black cat is seen as unlucky. Such is the case in Slavic culture as well. However, this only came to be after the adoption of Christianity, when many of the animalistic facets of Paganism became associated with bad luck and the devil. Now, black cats are seen as carriers of bad luck Koshki v Slavianskoi traditsii).

If a gray cat jumps on your chest at night, it is the Domovy, and you must immediately ask "for good or for bad?" (К добру или к худу?) and await the answer. People still believe that cats will not go to happy homes and killing a cat will bring seven years of bad luck (Koshki v Slavianskoi traditsii).

Like in American culture, Slavs believe cats have nine lives. Other interesting cat superstitions pertain to the arrival of guests. Since the cat is connected to the house and the hearth, its behavior can tell you what kind of guests to expect. If the cat cleans its paws at the hearth, guests will come. If the paws are cold, the guests will be unwanted strangers. If the paws are warm, the guests will be family or friends (Koshki v Slavianskoi traditsii).

In Vladimir Dahl's famed dictionary of Russian proverbs published in 1853, there are over 75 sayings related to cats. Look below to see a variety of Slavic beliefs regarding cats.

Turkey

Cats have a special place in Turkish culture. Istanbulofficial.com has an article listing the ten most famous Turkish cats and there is a 2016 documentary called Kedi about Istanbul's stray cat population. Cats are welcome in stores, cafes, hotels, bars, and restaurants.

As anthropologist Gideon Lasco notes, most Muslims consider cats "ritually clean" and cats "have been historically favored, dating to the Prophet Muhammad who is said to have loved cats" (Lasco, "For the Love of Cats in Turkey"). There is even a Turkish saying, "If you kill a cat, you need to build a mosque to be forgiven by God."

There are a few breeds of cat that originated in Turkey. The Turkish Van cat, the Van cat, the Turkish Angola cat, and the Anatoli cat. 

Gli

Gli, which means union of love, was a famous cat known for living in Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya) mosque. Her Instagram account has over 100,000 followers. Among her fans, is former US President Barrack Obama, who was filmed petting her during a visit to Hagia Sophia in 2009. When the museum was converted back into a mosque, the Turkish government announced that Gli, and other cats in the area, were welcome to stay. Watch a short news clip (in English) about Gli and her admirers.

Gli passed away in November 2020 at the ripe old age of 16. Her ashes were placed in the Hagia Sophia Museum following a well-attended funeral service (Pili). According to an entry on the Visit Istanbul blog, "Gli’s death marked the end of an era, as the cat had been a fixture in the Hagia Sophia for many years and was considered a symbol of the building’s history and cultural heritage. His presence in the Hagia Sophia was a reminder that the building was not only a place of worship but also a place where many lives intersected" (Pili).

Şerafettin (Şero)

Was a cat who lived in Ankara, Turkey in the Republican People's Party (CHP) headquarters since its construction in 2004. He was the mascot of the political party and his Twitter account (started in 2013) which currently has over 51,000 followers. He has been seen during live television addresses filmed at the CHP headquarters. Construction workers who helped build the CHP headquarters named him after the protagonist of the 2016 adult animated action comedy Kötü Kedi Şerafettin (Bad Cat Şerafettin).

In October 2014, Şero co-signed a decree, along with CHP Deputy Chairman Veli Ağbaba and Secretary General Gürsel Tekin, which urged municipalities to dedicate a larger portion of their budgets to rehoming stray animals including the employment of vets, animal ambulance services, food and water supplies for stray animals, and burying dead animals (Sunday's Zaman). The three CHP representatives signed the decree on World Animal Day.

Şero spent all 20 years of his life living in the CHP building. He passed away from old age on September 28, 2024 and was buried in the CHP headquarters' garden following a small funeral service. In a post on Twitter, veterinarian Tarkan Özçetin wrote the following “For 20 years, Şero, the CHP's cat, which has been a source of smiles in Turkish politics with its presence and has established a place in the hearts of all animal lovers, lost its life as of this morning after the treatment process in our hospital” (English translation from DuvaR.English).

Tombili

Tombili, Turkish for chubby, was a famous cat who lived on the streets of the Kadıköy District of Istanbul, Turkey. His signature pose, leaning casually on the curb, gained him international fame after a photo of the endearing gentleman went viral.

In August 2016, Tombili fell ill and passed away. 17,000 enamored fans of the cat signed a petition to have his memory commemorated. Istanbul Mayor Aykurt Nuhoğlu commissioned a statue by local sculptor Seval Şahin, which immortalized Tombili's pose in bronze.

The statue was inaugurated for World Wildlife Day on October 4, 2016. Hundreds of people came to pay their respects, and the deputy mayor said a few words. The statue was stolen on November 8, which led to public outcry. The BBC quoted a tweet by Republican People's Party MP Tuncay Ozkan, which translated to English says "They stole the Tombili statue. They are enemies of everything beautiful. All they know is hate, tears and war. They can't live without those." Perhaps the guilt was too much for the cat burglar. The statue was returned a few days later.

Van Cat (Van Kedisi)

The Van is native to the Middle East around Lake Van, Turkey's largest lake. They have been kept as domestic pets for hundreds of years. Also known as the swimming cat, Vans enjoy the water and would swim in Lake Van. Locals of the are only refer to the all-white Van cats as Vans. Some cats have markings on their heads and tails. One of the most striking characteristics of the Van cat is the commonality of heterochromia (mismatched eye color).

In Turkish folklore, it is believed that the Van cat rode on Noah's ark. Allah blessed the cat with a ginger mark on its head, and it made its way to Van via Mount Ararat (Saner). Owning a Van cat was seen as a status symbol. Ottoman sultans kept them as pets (Saner). The cat has become a symbol of the city of Van. A large statue of two Van cats can be found at the city's entrance and the city has a breeding and research center called the Van Cat Villa (Van Kedi Villasi).

LBWS CAT UKRAINE

LBWS Cat Ukraine is a group of five artists from Odesa, formed in 2017, that creates patriotic street art featuring different images of cats during the war. The group, whose members remain mostly anonymous, chose cats because they are an unofficial symbol of Odesa. One member said in an interview, “Odesa is a port city, and it is famous for street cats. We have many sculptures of cats here. It is almost an unofficial symbol of our city. This is where the idea came from" (Cherkasov).

LBWS paint cats around Odesa as well as in other cities in Ukraine, especially those hit hard by the invasion or have been recently liberated. The group uses patriotic and cultural colors and symbols including the Ukrainian flag and coat of arts as well as cultural symbols like the bandura, vyshyvanka, and Ukraine's national dish, borsht (Stodolinska). The cats often feature inspiring phrases like "Everything will be spring (все буде весна)," "(together we will win, (разом переможемо)," and "good evening, we are from Ukraine (доброго вечора, ми з України)." 

In addition to general messages of hope and patriotism, the art serves other agendas. For example, some pieces show the importance of education during wartime. An image of a cat with books accompanied by the phrase "A book is a weapon and defense (книга-це зборя і захист)" is one example of this message.

Yulia Stodolinskacalls the group's art "an example of symbolic markers present in the public space that try to document the events, roles of specific people, actions, and words which are important for this time in history" (Stodolinska).

The group self-funds its work, though people who admire their art also donate. Not only does the group raise morale with their art, but it has also volunteered to help the war effort, for example, by painting vehicles in camouflage and donating them to the front (Stodolinska).

Mr. Kotsky (Пан Коцький)

Mr. Kotsky, or Pan Kotsky is the protagonist of a Ukrainian fairytale which tells the story of a cat who grows too old to catch mice well anymore. His owner dumps him in the forest, where he awaits a tragic and lonely existence. However, he meets a lady fox in the woods who proposes to him. They wed and "form a ‘typical’ Ukrainian couple often depicted in Ukrainian folklore: a clever and active woman with a kind and passive man" (Kerziouk). 

The fox tells everyone that her husband, Pan Kotsky, is the most fearsome and dangerous beast in the forest. The other animals are afraid to visit the couple. Finally, the Hare cones to visit and the bear, the wolf, and the boar come along and hide to observe, not believing Pan Kotsky is truly so vicious. A mosquito bites the boar, who stirs in his hiding place. Mr. Kotsky, who despite his age retained his mouse-catching instincts, claws at the movement, causing the boar to yell. The sound scares Pan Kotsky, who jumps into the tree to hide, causing the bear and the wolf to fall out of the branches in which they were hiding.

The fairytale served as the basis for an 1891 children's opera, composed by Mykola Vitaliiovych Lysenko with a libretto written by Dniprova Chayka. Watch the opera performed by the Odesa Opera Theater.

Stepan

Stepan, born on November 16, 2008, is modern Ukraine's most popular cat, truly an internet sensation. He first gained recognition for his humorously jaded posture. His owner, Anna, posted the first video of Stepan on Instagram in 2020 during the COVID pandemic, and the post went viral. Stepan isn't only famous in Ukraine. His posts have been shared by US celebrities including Britney Spears and is famous in Russia and several other countries.

The striped celebrity has 1.6 million followers on his Instagram account. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Stepan's owner used the cat's fame to raise money for animals impacted by the war. In 2022, Stepan helped raise 15,000 euros ($16,200). The funds were spent on medicine, food, and other care for the animals. Following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine, Stepan raised money to help in the evacuation of animals from flooded areas (Shevchenko). There is a separate Instagram account solely dedicated to Stepan merchandise.

In 2022, The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy named Stepan an ambassador for its "Save Ukrainian Culture" project. The ministry said, "Cat Stepan from Kharkiv...is already the third star to join the project aimed at restoring Ukraine’s cultural heritage objects destroyed by Russians" (Ukrinform). In the same year, Stepan received an honorary Top Influencer and Blogger Award in Cannes, France (New Voice of Ukraine).

National Cat Day

Did you know that International Cat Day is August 8? The holiday was created in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Since 2020, the International Cat Care charity has taken over the holiday.