Why Are Black Cats Considered Back Luck?

Are Black Cats Bad Luck?

With Halloween right around the corner, I am sure I am not the only one who has seen their fair share of black cats at stores.

When you think of Halloween, you think or witches, black cats and scary items. This was something that I never understood though. I understand the scary items like ghosts, goblins, and witches during the Halloween time. But black cats always seemed to escape me.

Why are these supposed to be considered scary? More importantly, why are black cats considered back luck? Especially during Halloween.

Well I wanted to take a deep dive into this question today. I am going to talk about how this theory was started and then go over the truth behind black cats.

So if you are curious if black kitties are ACTUALLY bad luck, or where the idea came from, buckle up.

Where Did The Black Cat Superstition Begin?

When you think of black cats, most of the time people immediately associate them with Halloween, which is where most people think the scare comes from.

However, the history behind our black feline friends actually dates much farther back than the Halloween time frame.

Black cats originally actually date back to Ancient Egypt. However, they were not seen as bad luck back then. In fact, they were worshipped. Well, not just black cats…all cats.

The Ancient Egyptian god of cats, called Bastet, was often portrayed as a woman with the head of a black cat, so black feline friends were living the good life at that time.

Black Cats and Celtic Mythology

Unfortunately, the black cats were not worshiped forever. In Celtic mythology, there was legend of a creature called the Cat Sith.The Cat Sith was said to resemble a large black cat with a white spot on its chest. The thought was that this creature would steal a person’s soul before the gods. They would do so by “passing” over the corpse before burial. Hence when the thought of black feline friends being bad luck began.

Their bad luck theory continued into the Middle Ages where the Halloween theory catches on. In Europe, black cats were often tied together with witches. There was a story about a boy and his father seeing a black cat on the streets. The threw rocks at the cat (ARE YOU KIDDING) until the cat fled into a house of a women.

The woman was accused of being a witch and was said to turn into a cat at night to roam around freely. I cannot even believe for a second that this is where the myth of black cats came from. Basically, because two people saw a black cat and were cruel to it, they became bad luck. Can you image what differences the world would be had it have been a ginger cat? Or a grey cat?

Why Are Black Cats Considered Unlucky?

While the belief of witches has since drawn to an end, the belief of black cats has sometimes remained. There are a lot of people who believe in superstition.

They believe if they even SEE a black kitty, that they will bring bad luck to them. Others believe that while seeing them won’t bring bad luck, having them into your homes is not the best for karma and superstitions.

Luckily, there are some places in the world where a black cat is still considered good luck. In Scotland for example, a strange black cat arriving at your home is believed to bring prosperity.

In the rest of Britain, a black cat crossing your path is considered good luck. The same goes for Japan.

Unfortunately, black cats are still less likely to be adopted from a shelter than their more colorful buddies.

So next time you adopt a new furry friend, please consider giving a black cat a forever home.

Are Black Cats Good Luck?

While I cannot talk about what happened in history, I can talk about now.

The truth is that there is no correlation behind black cats and luck. They are not good luck, nor are they bad luck. The only difference is the color of their fur.

What people need to do is think about fur color differently. Rather than breed or luck, it needs to be thought of as hair color.

We don’t think that people with black hair are black luck. Nor do we think that blondes are good luck.

Black cats are black haired people who should be considered the same.

Black Cat Superstitions

If you have ever been curious about where the theory behind why kittens are considered bad luck, dig a little deeper.

The fears are based so far back in ancient times. Many of the beliefs from that time have since been de-bunked but for some reason, the black cat theory stays.

If you are thinking about adopting a cat, think about a black one.

Help spread awareness to the false information behind black kitties.

You may end up with a forever friend.

Why Are Black Cats Considered Bad Luck?