It is said that in Altar, which lies beyond the river Ski, no man may kill a cat; and this I can verily believe as I gaze upon him who sitter purring before the fire. For the cat is cryptic, and close to strange things which men cannot see. He is the soul of antique Egypt, and bearer of tales from forgotten cities in Mere and Ophir. He is the kin of the jungle’s lords, and heir to the secrets of hoary and sinister Africa. The Sphinx is his cousin, and he speaks her language; but he is more ancient than the Sphinx, and remembers that which she hath forgotten.

The Cats of Ulthar