Black Cats - Superstition or prejudice?
As we turn the page in history, we find that cats were worshipped in Egypt and to kill one was considered a crime punishable by death. When an Egyptian family’s cat died, the cat was mummified and the family went into mourning. Romans also considered the cat sacred and introduced it into Europe.
By the 17th Century, however, black cats began to be associated with witchcraft and its luck turned from good to bad in many areas. For a time, it was a popular practice to burn black cats and other animals to protect one’s house from fire and other disasters.
Superstitions about black cats have become very well known and popular in many cultures. Black cats were thought to be good or bad luck depending on where you live in the world. In Britain and Japan, it is considered good luck if a black cat crosses your path. But in America and other European countries it is considered bad luck and people are frightened by them.
We have associated black cats with Halloween, or a cat belonging to a witch. They are betrayed as a cat possessing special powers or an animal that could bring bad luck. They have been made popular as a Halloween decoration and in many movies and television shows.
The domestic cat makes good house pets, regardless of their color. No matter what color cat you might choose for a house pet, have a veterinarian check them out and consider getting them declawed to avoid damage to your furniture. Cats just love to sharpen their claws on just about anything they can find.
So why so we associate the color black with something bad or evil, or a color for mourning the death of a loved one? A color is just a color and nothing more, and to place a value on a color is not just superstitious, it’s a form of prejudice. We should not fear black cats, no more than we should fear the color of black. How foolish that would be? I think their black shiny coat makes them very distinctive and sleek looking. In a background of darkness black cats can move about in the camouflage of darkness completely unnoticed except for their eyes that eerily glow in the dark. For cats that live in the wild, such as panthers, their dark color makes them perfect predators to catch the food they need.