Shaytlan

  The Rabbi's Cat may be inadvertently hinting at something that is just beginning to interest scholars and this is the Djinn.  I know it's a stretch but hear me out.  The Djinn are beings which Muslims believe can be good or evil.  They are nearly the equivalent of an angel or demon and they are very much creatures of will which means they can choose which they are.  The only place I found in the book that could be addressing this is in the food scene when the rabbi is eating all of the non kosher foods.  Muslims also believe in saying a prayer for unclean (or possibly unclean) food.  Many Muslims (and this is beginning to emerge in scholarly research) believe that the Djinn can eat from your food if you do not say the prayer before eating.  If the Djinn eat from the food than it is unclean, no longer halal, and the person eating the food has then tainted their body.
  The figure on pg 117 looks a lot like many pictures of the Djinn.  It is very subtle but it is also very possible.  I am sure this is also in part meant for the rabbi not just as an Islam reference but again I think it is a similiarity the author means to point out.  It is one most probably wouldn't notice but it is very interesting.
  The author also has the rabbi calling the cat shaitan on pg 8 and this is very close to the Arabic word Shaytlan which means satan.  I have to admit after hearing this I though for sure the cat was going to do something bad and it kind of ruined it for me.  I was again surprised with another similarity, not only linguistically but also the point the rabbi is making at the time he calls him shaitan.  At the time the rabbi says the word he reveals to his daughter that the cat only tells lies and is using his gift for nothing but trouble.  I think this means to be a lesson that we should use our gifts for good things and those who use them for bad may suffer the lose of their gift later on.  In addition telling the truth is also a commandment.
  Lots of little things going on in The Rabbi's Cat I can't help but look for similarities everywhere in this book now.  Maybe the Djinn thought is a bit of a stretch but seeing the demon like creature next to the food is something I have seen before in Djinn research.  Overall interesting.  If anyone knows anything about this stuff I would be interested to hear your thoughts.