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Many cultures have superstitions about black cats, often ascribing either "good luck" or "bad luck" to them.

The character Behemoth in "The Master and Margarita", an enormous black cat (said to be as large as a hog), capable of standing on two legs and talking, and has a penchant for chess, vodka and pistols.

A black cat is a feline with black fur. Black cats may be thought of as either good luck or bad. It is not a particular breed of cat and may be mixed or of a specific breed.Usually a black cat is a bombay, known for its sleek, beautiful black fur. The all-black pigmentation is equally prevalent in both male and female cats.

Historical associations

Superstition, Prejudice, Bringer of Good or Bad Luck

The folklore surrounding black cats varies from culture to culture. In Great Britain, black cats are a symbol of good luck. The Scottish believe that a strange black cat's arrival to the home signifies prosperity. Furthermore, it is believed that a lady who owns a black cat will have many suitors.^[1] However in Western history, black cats have often been looked upon as a symbol of evil omens, specifically being suspected of being the familiars of witches; other cultures also consider them to be bad luck. (Sometimes, other black creatures, such as black dogs, also shared in the prejudice and suspicion of being "familiars"),

The black cat in folklore has been thought to change into human shape to act as a spy or courier for witches or demons. During the Middle Ages, these superstitions led people to kill black cats. This had the unintended consequence of increasing the rat population and the spread of the Black Plague and other diseases carried by rodents.^{[citation needed]} There is no evidence from England of regular large-scale massacres of ‘satanic’ cats, or of burning them in Midsummer bonfires, as sometimes occurred in Europe. ^[2]

However, the supernatural powers ascribed to black cats were sometimes viewed positively, for example by sailors considering a Ship's cat in general and a black one in particular as lucky for their ship. Sometimes, fishermen's wives would keep black cats at home too, in the hope that they would be able to use their influence to protect their husbands at sea (see Ship's cat).

Black cats have been found to have lower odds of adoption in American shelters compared to other colors (except brown).^[3]

Anarcho-Syndicalism

Ralph Chaplin created the image of a black cat in a fighting stance, the IWW's symbol of sabotage.

Since the 1880s, the color black has been associated with anarchism. The black cat, in an alert, fighting stance was later adopted as an anarchist symbol.

More specifically, the black cat—often called the "sab cat" or "sabo-tabby"^[4]—is associated with anarcho-syndicalism, a branch of anarchism that focuses on labor organizing. See wildcat strike.

In testimony before the court in a 1918 trial of Industrial Workers of the World leaders, Ralph Chaplin, who is generally credited with creating the IWW's black cat symbol, stated that the black cat "was commonly used by the boys as representing the idea of sabotage. The idea being to frighten the employer by the mention of the name sabotage, or by putting a black cat somewhere around. You know if you saw a black cat go across your path you would think, if you were superstitious, you are going to have a little bad luck. The idea of sabotage is to use a little black cat on the boss."^[5]

Black cats in culture

Bohemian culture

Théophile Steinlen's advertisement for the tour of the Chat Noir cabaret

• Le Chat Noir (French for "The Black Cat") was a 19th-century cabaret in the Montmartre district of Paris. It was opened on 18 November 1881 at 84 Boulevard Rouchechouart by the artist Rodolphe Salis, and closed in 1897.^{[citation needed]}
• The Black Cat Cafe in San Francisco was a Beat and gay bar which was open from the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 until Halloween 1963.

Literature

• The Black Cat is an 1843 short story by American author Edgar Allan Poe.
• In the 2002 children's novel Coraline by Neil Gaiman, one of the characters is a black cat who acts as a wise yet snide guide to the protagonist, a girl called Coraline. He claims to have an ability to move between worlds at will, and chooses to because the creator of the world he can cross into hates him.

Comics

• Black Cat is a manga series by Kentaro Yabuki.
• Black Cat is a superheroine and occasional supervillainness featured in Marvel Comics.
• Black Cat, a Harvey Comics character.
• El Gato Negro (Spanish for "The Black Cat") is an independent American comic.

Film

Tiddles, a Black cat who gained fame as a Royal Navy Ship's cat.

• Felix the Cat, the first world-famous animated film character, is a black cat; early cartoons occasionally showed humans perceiving him as unlucky. In A Hungry Hoodoo (1920), Felix experiences bad luck on Friday the 13th and believes he is himself jinxed by his color.
• The Black Cat (1934) and (1941) versions
• The Black Cat (1981 film)
• The Black Cat GAK ATTACK (2010 film)

Sports

On September 9, 1969, the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets faced each other at Shea Stadium. The Cubs' division lead over the Mets had dropped to just 1.5 games, and this game was considered to be critical. Midway through the game, fans surrepetitiously released a black cat onto the field. The cat headed straight for the Cubs' Ron Santo in the on-deck circle, then made a beeline for the Cubs' dugout where it seemed to stare down all of the players. Cubs manager Leo Durocher's superstitions were borne out, as the Cubs not only lost that game, but much of the rest of the season, as they would post an 8-17 record for the month and ultimately lose the National League East to the Mets by eight games.

Mascot and Characters

A stray black cat.

• Kutsushita Nyanko (Japanese for "SocksCat") is a traveling black cat that wears white socks. The character was created by San-X.
• Sabrina, The Teenage Witch has a black magical talking cat named Salem.
• Chococat is a boy cat character by Sanrio, similar to Hello Kitty.
• Emily the Strange has four black cats: Mystery, Miles, Neechee, and Sabbath.^[6]
• Luna is a female black cat character in the anime series Sailor Moon
• Kiki's Delivery Service has a talking black cat called Jiji, who is Kiki's companion and best friend.
• Agatha Harkness, a Marvel Comics character, was a witch with a black cat familiar named Ebony.^[7]

Confectionery

• Black Cats are a type of jelly confectionery made by Allens. It has been suggested that this is a reference to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat".

Internet

There is an internet meme called "Basement Cat", a black cat representing the devil in the lolcat universe. Its counterpart is "Ceiling Cat", a white cat representing God.^[8]

Another internet meme is tacgnol, eternal enemy of LongCat.

References

See also

• Black dog bias
• Bombay (cat)
• Familiar
• Gobbolino, the Witch's Cat
• Halloween
• White cat
• Wicca
• Witch

External links

• Best Black Cats - slideshow by Life magazine