October 3, 2024

Black Cats and How They’re Represented

Cats. And not just any type of cat, black cats.

Many associate black cats with witches, dark magic, and even categorize them as the bringers of bad luck. Especially during Halloween, people are prone to believing that these cats are evil in some way.

Now, the superstition that black cats were bad luck dates back to the 13th century. Back then, there were a lot of witch hunting crises going around. Black cats were already rumored to be evil, as witches would use them as their familiars for demonic practices.

When these supposed witches were hunted and executed, so were their familiars. Even people who weren’t witches or begged that they weren’t were sought out for and killed. While this was going on, another rumor surfaced itself, saying that whoever crosses a black cat’s path or if it crosses you, you were cursed forever.

Those rumors started something. The murderous killing of black cats, no matter what it was. From strays to tamed ones, black cats were killed if they were spotted. And since that rumor, people have been trying to get rid of black cats purposefully, such as buying them from local pet stores and doing harmful things to them to “get rid of their sins.”

Present time, some of these killings have calmed down, but it still goes on. Near Halloween, after a quick analysis, pet store employees have found out that 78% of non black pets were adopted, when only 22% of other pets were adopted, meaning black pets and black pets with coloring were adopted less than other animals.

The same thing happens with dogs around the world. While most prefer a fluffy corgi or a golden retriever, other pets continue to get ignored. Some people have taken a stand to buy black pets, as well as discriminated pets, like Pitbulls or stray cats.