Friday, December 07, 2007 Nong Can: The cat with 9 lives By Erwin Ambo S. Delilan
THAILAND -- The Filipino's belief that cat is an animal with nine lives is true in Nakhom Ratchasima province. For Thais, this cat is known to be the "Nong Can" or better known as "Si Sawat," a Siamese cat that is also called "Maew Dok Lao," and can only be found in Thailand especially in Nakhom Ratchasima.
Nong Can, dubbed as a "spicy cat" for Thais, is now the official mascot of the 24th Southeast Asian Games.
The cat, as Thais believe, possesses unique characteristics and nine lives. As such, Nong Can would bring them prosperity, fertility and good fortune to anyone who owns it.
Thai farmers used Nong Can to beg for rains during dry season in Thailand. They also believe that Nong Can's dark silver hair symbolizes clouds, while its naturally green eyes connote rains.
In a research, Nong Can is a cat having medium built body with short silver blue hair that later changed to dark silver with crystal green colored eyes.
Thais can also detect if the certain Nong Can is not pure native cat only in the color of its eyes.
"When there's a mixture in the green color of Nong Can's eyes, then it's not the native one," said a male Thai interpreter assigned to the Philippine delegations.
So raising a Nong Can is believed to bring love and prosperity to every household in Thailand.
