The fishermen, feeling sorry for the loss of the cat, buried it and enshrined it at this location on the island. This is not the only cat shrine in Japan, however. Others include Nambujinja in the Niigata Prefecture and one at the entrance of Kyotango City, Kyoto. Another Japanese legend of cats is the nekomata: when a cat lives to a certain age, it grows another tail and can stand up and speak in a human language. Hello Kitty, created by Yuko Yamaguchi, is a contemporary cat icon. The character made its debut in 1974 and has since become a global staple of Japanese culture; the merchandise is available all over the world. According to Sanrio, the official licenser, designer, and producer of Hello Kitty merchandise, the character is a cartoon version of a little girl. In her fictional life, she is from the outskirts of London and a part of the Sanrio universe. Islam Although no species are sacred in Islam, cats are revered by Muslims. Some Western writers have stated Muhammad had a favorite cat, Muezza. He is reported to have loved cats so much that, "he would do without his cloak rather than disturb one that was sleeping on it". The story has no origin in early Muslim writers, and seems to confuse a story of a later Sufi saint, Ahmed ar-Rifa'i, centuries after Muhammad. Modern culture Cats have also featured prominently in modern culture. For example, a cat named Mimsey was used by MTM Enterprises as their mascot and features in their logo as a spoof of the MGM lion. By 1990, the New York Times said that cats had become the most popular subject depicted on gift items (such as coasters, napkins, jewelry, and bookends), and that an estimated 1,000 stores in the United States sold nothing but cat-related items. On the Internet, cats frequently appear often as memes and other humor; and on social media people frequently post pictures of their own cats. Other In Celtic Mythology, a Cat Sith is a fairy cat, sith or sidhe (both pronounced shee) meaning fairy. In Catholicism, the patron saint of cats is Saint Gertrude of Nivelles. The Cat Duet (Duetto buffo di due gatti), attributed to Rossini, is a popular performance piece for two sopranos, whose "lyrics" consist entirely of the repeated word "miau" ("meow"). See also List of fictional cats List of individual cats Jaguars