Editing Monster Girl Encyclopedia II (section)

== The Kingdom Ruled by Cats, for Cats (p. 148 - p. 149)==
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Generally, monsters of power - as well as monster realms created by gods - strongly reflect the attributes and inclinations of the lord who created them. A good example of this is the kingdom of cats, a spirit realm created by Bastet, the goddess who loves cats above all else. Cats abound there, wherever one looks.
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=== The Kingdom of Cats ===
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This is a monster realm thought to have been created by Bastet, goddess of cats. There, cats eat when they want, play when they want, and mate with males when they want. Almost all of the residents are monsters of the cat family and their husbands. it is a cat paradise containing many actual cats in addition to the monstrous cats and is governed by the royal cait siths-cats blessed with the power and protection of Bastet. Because the land is filled with the mana of cat monsters, a human women who wanders in will eventually transform into a cat monster herself.

Cats and cat monsters can come and go as they please, but because the kingdom of cats is one of the spirit realms (which are situated in different planes of existence), other humans and monsters cannot enter without the guidance of a resident. Entrances apparently exist in many places throughout the world, wherever there are cats. Even precinctive cat monsters such as the nekomata of Zipangu and the cheshire cat of Wonderland are known to slip in among the residents.

At a glance, the town appears to be constructed of Western architecture in a manner not much different from human towns. However, its structure in fact is labyrinthine and full of abrupt changes in elevation so that if a human and a cat should both run about, the human has little chance of keeping up. Cat monsters can ascend great heights with alacrity and thus have little trouble getting around. Human newcomers, though, have great difficulty navigating the roads and inevitably become lost. The town also contains an abnormally large number of alleys. Female cats in heat lurk in these alleys, waiting for a man to take a step inside. Cats like to drag men who have stumbled upon the kingdom, or their own husbands, into these alleys to mate with them. Given this forbidding urban layout, visitors are advised to tour under the guidance of a local. Cheshire cats, originally the guides of Wonderland, offer such guidance in the kingdom of cats. That said, the final stop in a cheshire cat's tour is always an alley.

Almost all of the buildings have entrances designed for animal-sized cats so that they are accessible to both actual cats and nekomata. Roofs throughout the country are designed with wide berths, so monsters and their husbands can lie in the sun without worrying about rolling in one's sleep and getting injured. Couples thus napping in the middle of the day seem to be a common sight.
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=== The Law of the Cats ===
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Though there are no laws aimed at felines in the kingdom of cats, there are laws that apply quite strictly to residents other than cat monsters. Of these, the following are two of the most important.

"A human husband must pamper his feline wife and play or mate with her whenever she requests that he do so."

"Cats, whether monstrous or animal, shall not be abused, excepting cases in which it is part of the mating process."

In this manner, the law puts cats first. Those who break the law are placed under the authority of a cait sith who has been entrusted by Bastet to promptly strip the criminal of their rights as a human being-as well as make a man feline property or a woman a cat monster.

The law described allows for a cat monster who fancies a man to freely mate with him-as soon as possible- in order to make him hers. Thus, cat monsters play with their husbands when they want, as they want, and enjoy copulation with them all they want. Husbands have no choice but to go along with their whims, for a defiant husband will be punished by being made into the cat's property, which also leads his life to be redefined according to the cat's desires.

On the other hand, as long as a cat's husband loves her and follows the law, he is guaranteed a life free of want for food, clothing, and shelter, in the name of Bastet. In the kingdom of cats, he needs not work, but may live his life loving and mating with the cat as she will have him. Thus, though they are unconditionally beholden to feline whim while in the kingdom of cats, it seems that the husbands take a strange comfort in this and never want to leave.

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=== Bastet, Goddess of Cats ===
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Bastet is a semi-monstrous cat goddess with the trunk of a cat and the upper body of a woman. She is thought to live not in the divine realm, but in the kingdom of cats. Bastet loves all cats, as well as other cat lovers, and is the guardian deity of cat monsters-which is why her worship is considered heretical to the Order.

Cat monsters revere Bastet more like she is an alpha than a god. A very small number of human lands and peoples also worship her. They venerate her as a god who is fickle but lavishes blessings upon those who love cats - blessings such as good health, abundant harvests, and precious children. They also regard cats to be her messengers and treat them with respect.

Shrine maidens display gratitude and extend prayers to Bastet on a daily basis in a formal costume that includes cat ears and a cat tail. But they do not only dress as cats; the shrine maidens work regularly to behave like cats, too. For them, feline gestures are the mere basics, as they are expected to be self-indulgent and free, embodying a manner that is not only selfish and haughty (for that does not attract the love accorded to cats), but lovable and alluring as well.

Every day, shrine maidens of special piety work assiduously to become like cats in both heart and body. They do not just polish their personal appeal, but also stretch their limbs to become as lithe as cats. It is said that the more they resemble cats, the stronger Bastet will shelter them. The traditional scriptures of Bastet's followers say that, by approaching cathood, they may reach the paradise where lives their god. When shrine maidens earn Bastet's recognition, they are ultimately reborn by her hand as cat monsters. The entire village where they live may be invited to the kingdom of cats - the shrine maiden as a new cat, and the villagers as a people who love cats enough to be worthy of the feline realm.
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