The problem with black cats

Fairfax

BEWARE? There are many myths and superstitions surrounding black cats across the world.

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Halloween is a bad time of year for black cats, with their long-standing connections with witches, hubble-bubble and evil.

Reports of deliberate cruelty to black cats rise especially in the weeks around Halloween in Britain, the RSPCA animal charity said on Wednesday.

But it seems that not only do people treat black cats badly in October – they shun them for the rest of the year too.

Black cats at animal shelters take longer than others to find homes, probably because of all the superstitions surrounding them, the charity said.

"Unfortunately, black cats often do spend longer in our rehoming centres than others as they are frequently overlooked by potential owners," said shelter manager Beverly Leavy.

"But their fur colour makes no difference to how much love they have to give," she added. "The cats are ready to make wonderful pets."

The image problem varies from country to country and often involves black cats crossing people's paths.

Historians differ about the origins of the superstitions.

Some point to the ancient Celts, some to folklore tales that liken cats to snakes and cast them as the constant companions of witches, others to a Medieval belief that they caused the black plague in Europe.

The view that they bring bad luck has also woven its way into art and popular culture.

American writer of macabre tales, Edgar Allan Poe, published a short story The Black Cat in 1843 and in the late 19th century a shady cabaret called Le Chat Noir welcomed guests in the Bohemian Montmartre district of Paris.

BLACK CATS AND BAD LUCK

* In China, black cats can sometimes be seen as harbingers of famine

* In North America, it's bad luck if a black cat crosses your path and good luck if a white cat does.

* In Scotland, however, a strange black cat appearing on your porch is a portent of prosperity.

* And in Japan a black cat crossing your path is often seen as lucky.

* Things are more complicated in Germany. There, a black cat crossing your path from right to left is a bad sign but exactly the opposite if it does so from left to right. There are various combinations of doom or delight in different parts of the world in the case of a black cat walking towards you.

- Reuters