Look at my Gold Lucky Maneki Neko :)
This was bought for me on our Vacation. I have always wanted one! This one is especially cute!
The Gold Lucky Cat is suppose to bring wealth.
Come On NEKO!!! ^_~
The Maneki Neko On Wikipedia
The Maneki Neko (literally "Beckoning Cat", also known as "Welcoming Cat", "Lucky Cat", "Money Cat", or "Fortune Cat") is a common Japanese sculpture, often made of porcelain or ceramic, which is believed to bring good luck to the owner. The sculpture depicts a cat (traditionally a Japanese Bobtail) beckoning with an upright paw, and is usually displayed (many times at the entrance) in shops, restaurants, pachinko parlors, and other businesses.
A raised right paw supposedly attracts money, while a raised left paw attracts customers.
While it is believed that Maneki Neko first appeared during the later part of the Edo period (1603-1867) in Japan the earliest documentary evidence comes from the 1870s, during Japan's Meiji Era. It is mentioned in a newspaper article in 1876 and there is evidence kimono-clad Maneki Neko were distributed at a shrine in Osaka during this time. An ad from 1902 advertising Maneki Neko indicates that by the turn of the century they were popular.[3]
Beyond that, the exact origins of Maneki Neko are uncertain.
A frequent attribution to several Japanese emperors, as well as to Oda Nobunaga and samurai Ii Naotaka, is that one day the luminary passed by a cat, which seemed to wave to him. Taking the cat's motion as a sign, the unknown nobleman paused and went to it. Diverted from his journey, he realized that he had avoided a trap that had been laid for him just ahead. Since that time, cats have been considered wise and lucky spirits. Many Japanese shrines and homes include the figurine of a cat with one paw upraised as if waving—hence the origin of Maneki Neko, often referred to as Kami Neko in reference to the cat's kami or spirit.
