Anthro Maneki Neko by @SleepyShippo (Sleepy Shippo)

I was bored and wanted to draw one night, but didn't know what to do, so i asked the peeps in the S7 chat room and the suggestion was an anthro. Well, since i love doing goofy things with Japanese-traditional animals, this is what came out of my brain. It's one of those beckoning cats that you see statues of in store windows all the time. They're supposed to attract business, hence the old-style Japanese coin.

There are many variations of the maneki neko story, but this is the one I know best:

There was a monk living in a dilapidated temple with a cat. When food and money started running short, the monk said to the cat "I feed you, care for you, and shelter you. Can you not do something for me?" So the cat left the temple and headed into the woods.

It just so happened that the local nobleman was returning from a hunt in the woods. He sat down under a tree to rest. Suddenly, the temple cat appeared and sat back on its hind legs, waving one paw in the air in a gesture of "come here! come here!" The nobleman was so amazed by this behavior that he got up and approached the cat. Just as he left the tree, it was struck by lightening.

Shocked and relieved, the nobleman followed the cat back to the temple. In gratitude for the cat saving his life, the temple was dedicated to the 'beckoning cat' and all expenses were paid for by the nobleman from then on.