Missionary Cat

I am reading a work of fiction, published 165 years ago. What makes it very interesting is that it appears to be based in part on true tales of the London Missionary Society. The missionaries brought a cat to Rarotonga -- an unknown animal there. But the cat immediately ran for the mountains. From then on, it would visit houses of the locals at night. They called it the "Monster of the Deep", and fled in terror when they spotted it. It visited the home of the chief one night. The chief and his wife saw two glowing eyes, and heard it make a strange sound (perhaps a miau). The chief burst into prayer, asking God to deliver them from Satan, and the cat fled. He and his wife were much impressed with the power of prayer.