Cait Sith of the Highlands
The Celtic meaning of Cait Sith (pronounced Cayt Shee) is "Fairy Cat". Cait
Siths were said to be as big as dogs and were completely black, save for one
white spot on its belly. They roamed the Highlands of Britain and were allgedly
very ferocious if stumbled upon. Some believed that the Cait Siths were actually
transformed witches, not fairies. Another cat, Big Ears, the demon god of
the cats, exists in British folklore; yet this being has little to do with
the Cait Siths. In more modern times, the Cait Sith was believed to have been
inspired by the Kellas Cat, a cross between feral domestic cats and Scottish
wildcats.
Cait in Boots
Final Fantasy VII's Cait Sith probably has more in common with the fairy tale
Puss in Boots. In this classic tale, a miller's son inherits a cat while his
brothers receive seemingly more valuable inheritences. The cat sets out on
a journey to prove himself useful to his master, and by the end of the tale,
the miller's son is the heir to a great nation and the husband to a beutiful
princess. In contrast, Reeve's experiences with Cait lead him to pursue a
different course in life. Also, when we first meet him, Reeve is the least
powerful of Shinra's executives, but by the end of the game, he is the only
one of them to survive; this mirrors the miller's son's own experience in
coming out on top.
Cait Sith as Moogle
Now we come to the issue of Cait's design. I personally believe that Cait
(the cat himself) was largely inspired by the Moogle. Note the slanted eyes,
shape of the head, and scruffy cheeks. Musically, Mog's Theme (from FF6) and
Cait Sith's Theme (from FF7) are remarkably similar melodically, while remaining
two different pieces of music. Next time you play a Final Fantasy game, look
at the Mogs and try to look for hints of Cait within their designs.
Reeve Etymology
The word Reeve is currently defined as a minor officer or authority figure in a parish. This word was derived from a Middle English term for the steward of a late-medieval manor. In FF7, Reeve's primary responsibility at Shinra is Midgar's construction and maintenance; in a way, Reeve is Midgar's steward, or it's "reeve".
Here are some select screenshots offering a glimpse inside the corporate
world of Reeve. Click on the thumbnails to see the full-sized screenshots
(each picture will open in a separate browser window).
 |
Shinra Tower: Headquarters of the Shinra Electric Power Company, and Reeve's place of employment. |  |
First Floor lobby: How about a drink at Turtle's Paradise after work? |
 |
62nd Floor Urban Dev. Research Library: You'll probably find Reeve and his staff here often. |  |
Inside the Urban Dev. Library: A book written by Reeve, perhaps? |
 |
64th Floor (Employee Gym): One wonders why there's a Megaphone in Reeve's locker. Hmm... |  |
65th Floor (Midgar Model): A perfectly scaled and updated model of the city Reeve maintains. |
 |
70th Floor (President's Office): President Shinra moves in to calm down a ticked-off Reeve. |  |
66th Floor Conference Room: Reeve presents his report to the other top executives. |
 |
70th Floor (President's Office): Receiving personal orders from Rufus Shinra. |  |
66th Floor Conference Room: With wireless communication by Shinra PHS Cellular. |
 |
66th Floor Conference Room: Yet another reason to hate your fellow executives... |  |
67th Floor Laboratory: Where Reeve may've been locked up after his betrayal of Shinra. |
Final Fantasy VI
In the American version of this game (Final Fantasy III), one of the Espers you can acquire is Stray, a black-and-white cat who wears a green cape and red boots. In the original Japanese version, this Esper is named Cait Sith.
Final Fantasy X
In this game, the black mage Lulu fights with dolls based on various Final Fantasy creatures, including Cait Sith. Cait Sith dolls differ from the others in that they have inherant status effect abilities. Among the numerous Cait Sith dolls available during the course of the game are Fossil Cait Sith (which comes with the Stonetouch ability) and Noxious Cait Sith (which features Poisontouch).
|
Final Fantasy X-2 In this follow-up to Final Fantasy X; Yuna, Rikku, and newcomer Paine gain special Job abilities by finding and equipping special "dresspheres". The rarest dressphere of all is "Mascot", which is only given to the party if an "Episode Complete" is obtained in every area of the game during Chapter Five (save for Bevelle). The Mascot dressphere places its wearer into a costume that resembles a Final Fantasy creature; Rikku's Mascot outfit is none other than Cait Sith. (Click on the icons to the right to see this outfit.) |  |
 |
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales
One of the picture books in this game is "Unicorn and the Town Musicians", a Final Fantasy version of the fairy tale "The Musicians of Bremen". Cait appears in this story as a trumpet player (I might also note here that his dialogue implies an obvious Irish/Scottish accent, a la Advent Children), and some of the Cait Sith "pop up cards" can be acquired by completing minigames in both volumes of this picture book. Each Cait Sith card has its own special attacks and abilities, ranging from "Megaphone" to "Marvelous Cheer" (this latter card depicts Cait holding the HP Shout!).
• 