The cat that waves at you wherever you go

As part of the team that writes this blog I try to be observant wherever I go, in case I can pick up something of interest to share with you readers.

courtesy of Art and Culture

I was whiling away the afternoon in a coffee shop in Phuket Town on my day off recently, without my camera; and as I looked around and I do so love the idiosyncrasies of Phuket Old Town I noticed something new.

A cat was waving at me from the counter! A smiley metallic one that is. After that I started noticing them in the shops everywhere -  in Phuket Old Town, on trendy Nimmanhaemin Road in Chiang Mai and at Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok.  I assumed (wrongly) that this cat, which waves it’s arm up and down continuously, was something of Thai or Chinese origin – I was wrong.

The cat is Japanese and is called ‘Maneki Neko’. It is also referred to as a Beckoning Cat, Welcoming Cat, Lucky Cat, Money Cat or Fortune Cat and has a massive worldwide following as well as a number of interesting tales as to its origin.

It is placed in a significant place by the shop/business owner to bring about favourable results and life success – so now we both know.