Superstitions Associated with Black Cats

“Black Cats”, by Ruth Corsaw

Black cats are pretty special. It seems they are usually the most outgoing, talkative of cats, the guy with the most laid-back cooperative temperament. This is true both with human interaction and with other cats. So, it is quite likely a black cat could be your best friend!

Cats of all kinds have been included in legends and myths, but the black cat has been the subject of more superstitions than most! Generally a black cat has been considered good luck. Such as in the English fishing villages of Yorkshire, where a black cat was thought to bring good fishing and a safe return for the fisherman. Black cats have also been the subject of many books and plays. Cats have played an important role in civilization, above and beyond just being our friends, black cats even more than their lighter colored relatives.

While cats have been domesticated for thousands of years, there have always been black cats, even though it is a recessive gene that causes the coloring. That means that both of a black kitten’s parents had the gene for black. So the black gene in cats must have a reason to exist, or it would have disappeared many, many years ago.  It also is sex linked.  Like with calicos almost never being male, there aren’t any blue-eyed male black cats, while it does show up in female black cats! It turns out that black cats may be more resistant to disease, in which case that recessive gene is literally a life- and species saver! It is also true that animals with white skin are more prone to skin disorders and deafness. So maybe that black gene is more important than we might think.

There are only two true colors for cats, all the other color ”combinations” are caused by a mixing of those two genes. Those two colors are Orange and Black, and White is a lack of color.

Tortis are black cats with an “over-spray” of orange, which probably explains why most Tortis are such happy-go-lucky characters!

There is even a breed of all black cats. The Bombay cat was a cross between a black American Short Haired and a Sable Burmese. These cats are noted for a muscular body with shiny black hair and copper colored eyes.

Every cat I have ever “owned” picked me. Not the other way around. One of those was a black and white “tuxedo” cat, and another was a Torti. These two were the most outgoing and friendliest of all the cats I have ever had. They were the ones to greet every new visitor, come looking to play with me, and the least to be upset by anything out of the ordinary..

So, if you’re looking for a new addition to your family, please be sure and check out those black cats. They may be a little harder for you to notice, as a black cat does tend to blend in better with most backgrounds. But once you get to know them, they are the ones with the personality!

-Ruth Corsaw

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