![Casting black cats in 1961](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Casting_black_cats_in_1961.jpg)
A black cat is a
domestic cat with black fur that may be a mixed or specific
breed
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
, or a common domestic cat of no particular breed. The
Cat Fanciers' Association
The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) was established in the United States in 1906. The CFA is currently the world's largest registry of pedigreed cats. Originally headquartered in Manasquan, New Jersey the CFA moved to Alliance, Ohio in 2010. ...
(CFA) recognizes 22 cat
breed
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
s that can come with solid black coats. The
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
breed is exclusively black. All-black fur pigmentation is slightly more prevalent in male cats than female cats. Most black cats have golden
irises due to their high
melanin
Melanin (; from el, μέλας, melas, black, dark) is a broad term for a group of natural pigments found in most organisms. Eumelanin is produced through a multistage chemical process known as melanogenesis, where the oxidation of the amino ...
pigment content. In popular myths,
witches are believed to be associated with black cats.
Coat
![Bombay Katzen of Blue Sinfonie](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Bombay_Katzen_of_Blue_Sinfonie.JPG)
Any cat whose fur is a single color, including black, is known as a "solid" or "self". A "solid black" cat may be coal black, grayish black, or brownish black. Most solid-colored cats result from a recessive gene that suppresses the
tabby
A tabby is any domestic cat (''Felis catus'') with a distinctive 'M'-shaped marking on its forehead; stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, and around its legs and tail; and (differing by tabby type), characteristic striped, ...
pattern. Sometimes the tabby pattern is not completely suppressed; faint markings may appear in certain lights, even on a solid black cat. A cat having black fur with white roots is known as a "black smoke".
![A black Cat-photographed by Rajdeep Das](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/A_black_Cat-photographed_by_Rajdeep_Das.JPG)
Black cats can also "rust" in sunlight, the coat turning a lighter brownish-red shade.
Eumelanin, the pigment required to produce the black fur, is somewhat fragile, so the rusting effect can be more pronounced in cats that frequently spend time in the sun. A rarer situation that can also cause rusting is a deficiency of the amino acid tyrosine, which is required to produce eumelanin.
In addition to the
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, the
Cat Fanciers' Association
The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) was established in the United States in 1906. The CFA is currently the world's largest registry of pedigreed cats. Originally headquartered in Manasquan, New Jersey the CFA moved to Alliance, Ohio in 2010. ...
allows solid black as a color option in 21 other breeds. The color description for those breeds is:
:''Black'': dense coal black, sound from roots to tip of fur. Free from any tinge of rust on the ends. Nose leather: black. Paw pads: black or brown.
The exceptions are:
*
Oriental
The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...
– ''Ebony'': dense coal black. Free from any tinge of rust on tips or smoke undercoat. Nose leather: black. Paw pads: black or brown.
*
Sphynx
The Sphynx cat (pronounced , ) also known as the Canadian Sphynx, is a breed of cat known for its lack of fur. Hairlessness in cats is a naturally occurring genetic mutation, and the Sphynx was developed through selective breeding of these ani ...
– ''Black'': black. One level tone from nose to tip of the tail. Nose leather: black. Paw pads: black or brown.
*
Ragamuffin
Ragamuffin or Raggamuffin may refer to:
Film
* ''The Ragamuffin'', a 1916 American silent film by William C. deMille
* ''Ragamuffin'', a 2014 film directed by David Schultz about Rich Mullins
Music
* Raggamuffin music, or ragga, a reggae and danc ...
– Although black is not specifically mentioned, the standard allows for "any color, with or without white", so technically speaking, an all-black Ragamuffin would be allowed under the breed standard.
Historical associations
As a positive omen in Britain and Ireland
![Drazet, a black feral cat](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Drazet%2C_a_black_feral_cat.jpg)
The superstitions surrounding black cats varies from culture to culture, but black cats have positive associations in the
Celtic nations
The Celtic nations are a cultural area and collection of geographical regions in Northwestern Europe where the Celtic languages and cultural traits have survived. The term ''nation'' is used in its original sense to mean a people who shar ...
and
Japanese folklore
Japanese folklore encompasses the informally learned folk traditions of Japan and the Japanese people as expressed in its oral traditions, customs, and material culture.
In Japanese, the term is used to describe folklore. The academic study o ...
. Black cats were sacred in
Celtic mythology.
Scottish lore holds that a black cat's arrival at a new home signifies prosperity, while
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
lore states that a black cat brings good health:
However, both the
Gaels
The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic langu ...
and
Celtic Britons had traditions of feral and sometimes malevolent black cats. In
Scottish mythology, a
fairy known as the
Cat sìth
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
takes the form of a black cat, while in
Welsh mythology
Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Celti ...
the monstrous
Cath Palug
(also , , , literally 'Palug's cat') was a monstrous cat in Welsh legend, given birth in by the pig Henwen of Cornwall; the cat was later to haunt the Isle of Anglesey, and was said to have killed 180 warriors when Sir Kay went to the island t ...
grew from a black kitten. In England, as with other
Germanic cultures, some areas would associate black cats with
witches and bad luck.
The mix of positive and negative associations in Great Britain may have given rise to the later belief that black cats were omens of both good and bad luck. One tradition states that if a black cat walks towards someone, it is said to bring good fortune, but if it walks away, it takes the good luck with it.
This tradition was reversed at sea where 18th century
pirates came to believe that a black cat would bring bad luck if it walks towards someone, and good luck if it walks away from someone. It was also believed that if a black cat walks onto a ship and then walks off it, the ship is doomed to sink on its next trip.
Furthermore, it is believed that a lady who owns a black cat will have many suitors.
Superstition, prejudice, bringer of good or bad luck
![Black pussy - panoramio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Black_pussy_-_panoramio.jpg)
Black cats are often a symbol of
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
or
witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
. In most Western cultures, black cats have typically been looked upon as a symbol of evil omens, specifically being suspected of being the
familiar
In European folklore of the medieval and early modern periods, familiars (sometimes referred to as familiar spirits) were believed to be supernatural entities that would assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic. According to r ...
s of witches, or actually
shape-shifting
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherite ...
witches themselves. Most of Europe considers the black cat a symbol of bad luck, particularly if one walks across the path in front of a person, which is believed to be an omen of misfortune and death. In Germany, some believe that black cats crossing a person's path from right to left, is a bad omen, but from left to right, the cat is granting favorable times.
The black cat in folklore has been able to change into human shape to act as a spy or courier for witches or demons. When the
Pilgrims arrived at
Plymouth Rock
Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the ''Mayflower'' Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in December 1620. The Pilgrims did not refer to Plymouth Rock in any of their writings; the first known writt ...
, they brought with them a devout faith in the Bible. They also brought a deepening suspicion of anything deemed of Satan and were deeply suspicious of other Christians, including those of the Catholic, Quaker, Anglican and Baptist denominations. The Pilgrims viewed the black cat as a companion, or a familiar to witches, who were said to "use black cats as an integral part of their craft". These superstitions led people to kill black cats. There is no evidence from England of regular large-scale massacres of "Satanic" cats, or of
burning them in midsummer bonfires, as sometimes occurred elsewhere in Europe. In the present day many Westerners, including Christian clergy, have black cats as pets, and very few people attach superstitions to them anymore.
In contrast, the supernatural powers ascribed to black cats were sometimes viewed positively; for example, sailors considering a "
ship's cat" would want a black one because it would bring good luck. 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).
In the
folklore of Chiloé of southern Chile, black cats are an important element that is needed when hunting for the treasure of the
carbunclo
Carbuncle (Spanish: ''Carbunclo'', ''Carbunco'' or ''Carbúnculo'') is a legendary species of small animal in South American folklore, specifically in the mining folklore of northern Chile. The animal is said to contain riches of some sort; in some ...
.
In the early days of television in the United States, many stations located on
VHF channel 13 used a black cat as a mascot in order to make sport of being located on an "
unlucky
Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...
" channel number.
Anarcho-syndicalism
![Anarchist black cat](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Anarchist_black_cat.svg)
Since the 1880s, the
color
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
has been associated with
anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...
. The black cat, in an alert, fighting stance was later adopted as an
anarchist symbol
Anarchists have employed certain symbols for their cause, including most prominently the circle-A and the black flag. Anarchist cultural symbols have been prevalent in popular culture since around the turn of the 21st century, concurrent wit ...
.
More specifically, the black cat—often called the "sab cat" or "sabo-tabby"—is associated with
anarcho-syndicalism, a branch of anarchism that focuses on labor organizing, including the use of
wildcat strike
The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...
s.
In testimony before the court in a 1918 trial of
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...
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
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...
. 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."
Space Shuttle program
![STS-41-c Alt Patch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/STS-41-c_Alt_Patch.jpg)
When the
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
program naming system for missions was reworked to avoid a Space Transportation System (STS)-13, some sourced this to superstition and
Apollo 13.
The crew for what would have been STS-13 (what turned out to be
STS-41C) made a humorous mission patch that included a black cat and a number 13.
The mission was successful and even landed on
Friday the 13th.
The other main reason for the new numbering system was to better accommodate a much higher number of launches.
Notable black cats
![Gladstone a year in Treasury (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Gladstone_a_year_in_Treasury_%281%29.jpg)
The
UK Government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_es ...
has adopted several cats from
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home (now known as Battersea) is an animal rescue centre for dogs and cats. Battersea rescues dogs and cats until an owner or a new one can be found. It is one of the UK's oldest and best known animal rescue centres. It w ...
as
mousers.
Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
is known as Chief Mouser of
HM Treasury
His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ...
.
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, also known as Willie, was a
presidential cat owned by
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
and
Laura Bush who lived with them at the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
.
Trim
Trim or TRIM may refer to:
Cutting
* Cutting or trimming small pieces off something to remove them
** Book trimming, a stage of the publishing process
** Pruning, trimming as a form of pruning often used on trees
Decoration
* Trim (sewing), or ...
sailed with
Matthew Flinders as he mapped the coastline of Australia between 1801 and 1803. Trim now accompanies him on several statues in Australia and England.
Hodge (fl. ) was a cat belonging to
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
. Most of what is known about Hodge comes from
James Boswell
James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (New Style, N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the Englis ...
's biography and a statue of Hodge stands outside
Dr Johnson's House
Dr Johnson's House is a writer's house museum in London in the former home of the 18th-century English writer and lexicographer Samuel Johnson. The house is a Grade I listed building.
Description
Built at the end of the seventeenth century b ...
.
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
the "bionic" cat had his back legs sliced off by a combine harvester whilst sleeping in a field in
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
. He was flown to the UK and received prosthetic limbs in an innovative operation in 2010.
Adoption and Black Cat Day
Black cats have been found to have lower odds of adoption in American
shelters compared to other colors except brown, although black animals in general take more time to find homes. Some shelters also suspend or limit adoptions of black cats around
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
for fear they will be tortured, or used as "living decorations" for the holiday and then abandoned.
Despite this, no one has ever documented in the history of humane work any relationship between adopting black cats and cats being killed or injured. When such killings are reported, forensic evidence has pointed to natural predators, such as
coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
s,
eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...
s, or
raptors as the likely cause.
Limiting or suspending adoptions around Halloween also places more cats of all colors at risk of dying in shelters due to overcrowding.
October 27 has been designated 'Black Cat Day' by
Cats Protection
Cats Protection, formerly the Cats Protection League, is a UK charity dedicated to rescuing and rehoming stray, unwanted or homeless cats and educating people about cats and cat welfare. The organisation was founded as the Cats Protection Leag ...
in the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
to celebrate the virtues of black cats and to encourage people to adopt an unwanted black cat. Cats Protection's own figures suggest that black cats are more difficult for them to find a new home for than other colors.
In 2014, the
RSPCA
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...
reported that 70% of the abandoned cats in its care were black, suggesting a possible reason was that people considered black cats "un-photogenic".
In the United States, August 17 is "Black Cat Appreciation Day". Wayne H. Morris created the day in honor of his late sister, June, who had a black cat, Sinbad. The day was chosen in memorial of June's passing.
Research by the
ASPCA
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal cruelty. Based in New York City since its inception in 1866, the organization's mission is "to provide effective mea ...
shows that black cats are the least likely to be adopted from shelters of any type of cat.
This can be partly because of the superstition behind black cats such as their association with witchcraft or bad luck, or because they appear dull next to more colorful cats. In 2014
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Canada's largest city, held an event on
Black Friday during which people could adopt a black cat without paying the usual $75 adoption fee, in order to encourage the adoption of black cats. This trend has now spread across the United States, with many shelters offering free adoption of black cats on Black Friday.
With the success of the 2018 African-themed
superhero film
A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature action, advent ...
, ''
Black Panther'', there was a fad of adopting black domestic cats as pets and naming them after various characters of the film, such as
T'Challa
Black Panther is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist-coplotter Jack Kirby. The character first appeared in '' Fantastic Four'' #52 ...
and
Shuri. It has been observed that usually people were not going out of their way to follow this fad, but visited animal shelters to simply adopt a pet under normal circumstances and were inspired by the
Black Panther to adopt a black cat when they see one. Regardless, to reduce the chance of such cats being abandoned when the fad fades, reputable animal shelter personnel took the usual precautions of having potential adopters fill out questionnaires to weed out potentially abusive guardians and have them read literature about the needs and responsibilities of such a pet to dissuade the less conscientious.
See also
*
Black dog syndrome
*
Black panther
*
Black tiger
A black tiger is a rare colour variant of the tiger, and is not a distinct species or geographic subspecies.
Description
There are reports and one painting (now lost) of pure black non-striped tigers (true melanistic tigers). Most black mammal ...
*
Black squirrel
Black squirrels are a melanistic subgroup of squirrels with black coloration on their fur. The phenomenon occurs with several species of squirrels, although it is most frequent with the eastern gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis'') and the ...
*
Kellas cat, a medium-size black
hybrid cat resulting from interbreeding between domestic cats and the
Scottish wildcat
The Scottish wildcat is a European wildcat (''Felis silvestris silvestris'') Population (biology), population in Scotland.
It was once widely distributed across Great Britain, but the population has declined drastically since the turn of the 20th ...
*
Melanism
The term melanism refers to black pigment and is derived from the gr, μελανός. Melanism is the increased development of the dark-colored pigment melanin in the skin or hair.
Pseudomelanism, also called abundism, is another variant of ...
References
{{Superstitions, state=collapsed
Anarchist symbols
Anarcho-syndicalism
Cat, black
Cat coat types
Cat folklore
Cats as pets
Cats in popular culture
Folklore
Industrial Workers of the World culture
Luck
Witchcraft