Historically, black cats were symbolically associated with witchcraft and evil. In Hebrew and Babylonian folklore, cats are compared to serpents, coiled on a hearth. The cat was worshiped in Egypt and to kill one was 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 the animal into Europe. In most European countries, except Britain and Ireland, a black cat crossing one's path is considered bad luck; they were also seen by the church as associated with witches. Black cats (and sometimes, other animals of the same colour, or even white cats) were sometimes suspected of being the familiars of witches. Black cats were believed to be shape shifters, that witches could transform into them by saying a spell and travel about doing evil things unnoticed. According to sources witches took such good care of their cats for this reason and it was rumored that they even fed them the blood of babies to stay youthful and agile. As the cat was a form of its witch owner, it was believed that harming a cat would directly harm the witch. Many during the Middle Ages also believed that the devil regularly took the form of a black cat, and on holy days, such as Easter, black cats were routinely hunted down and burned. By the 17th Century the cat began to be associated with witchcraft and became a symbol of bad luck.
The superstitions that surround the black cat are some of the most widely known and popular. In Scotland, an unfamiliar black cat on the porch of a house is regarded as a sign of upcoming prosperity for its inhabitants. In Ireland, a black cat crossing someone's path in the moonlight is taken by some as an omen of an epidemic illness. In Italy hundreds of years ago, it was believed that if a black cat lay on the bed of a sick person, that person would die. Many years ago in England, fishermen's wives kept black cats in their homes while their husbands went away to sea in their fishing boats. They believed that the black cats would prevent danger from occurring to their husbands while they were away.
In places which saw few witch hunts, black cats retained their status as good luck, and are still considered as such in Britain and Ireland. They are also considered to be good luck on ships.[2]
References:
2. ^ Superstitious town bans whistling
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