Why People think Black Cats are Bad Luck

So I think it is common knowledge that superstitious people believe that black cats are bad luck. Obviously that is 100% wrong but have you ever wondered why someone might think that? Well today we are going to look at the history of black cats in respect to their reputation.

So black cats have been thought to have some sort of supernatural ability for a long long time. We can track it back all the way to ancient Egypt at least. However they were thought to be a good omen then, not bad. Black cats were deeply respected and it was an honour to be in their presence. In Egypt it was a capital crime to kill or even injure a cat. During the middle ages in Europe is when the black cat started to have a negative connotation.

So picture it, Sicily middle ages… just kidding (golden girls reference fyi). In Europe at this time, especially in the Spanish communities black cats started to become associated with witches and witchcraft. It was commonly believed back then that witches could shapeshift and their creature of choice was the black cat. In the 1560s the superstition that a black cat crossing your path was bad luck started. There is a story that I will summarize that really started the black cat superstition. It is said that a father and son were out walking when a black cat crossed their path. In an attempt to get it to run away the duo threw stones of it. They were successful and it was seen to run into the home of a woman who was thought to be witch in the community. The following day they saw the woman who owned the house that the cat ran into limping due to a hurt leg. Obviously that must of meant she was a shapeshifting witch that got hurt the day prior due to having stones thrown at her while in the form of a black cat… right? Well that was their logic.

Soon after this happened the story spread like wildfire all over Europe and parts of Asia too. There are other possible origins too as we can truly only give educated guesses about superstition origins. Another popular idea was that they weren’t necessarily shapeshifting witches but rather the familiar of witches. Regardless they seem to be deeply associated with witches and witchcraft.

Something to remember is that even though many people have realized that this superstition simply isn’t true some still firmly believe it. Black cats are the least adopted cats even in this day and age. So I truly encourage anyone looking for a new little friend to check out your communities shelter and bring home a black cat. In saying that though you need to make sure you are taking the right precautions with your new black feline friend. It might be best to make them an indoor cat (or at the very least keep them in more around October) because there are terrible people out there who just might hurt your baby, all because of a silly rumour.

My handsome prince Tarot. He’s a rescue who is was found in a cemetery ditch with his family. He is thought to be born around October 31st.

That’s all for today! I hope you enjoyed. Do you have a black furbaby at home? Tell me all about them down below in the comments along with any other thoughts or questions you may have. Make sure you follow me here and on instagram so you get notifications when I post here and when I upload videos to youtube. Until next time, Blessed Be!