Greetings! I am Star, daughter of Selene, sibling to ten Townsend Cats, beloved fur child of my human family, Humane Society rescue, and exquisite black cat.
In Greek mythology, Selene is the goddess of the moon. My mother and I are Selene and Star – see what our humans did there? I also have a little white fur star on my chest, so my name is fitting in a variety of ways.
As we’ve just celebrated Black Cat Appreciation Day, I asked Josie if I might take this opportunity to introduce myself, share my first blog, and pass along some fascinating facts unique to sleek, sable beauties like myself.
I’ll start with a bit of history. Though black cats are commonly associated with Halloween and witchcraft, few people know how we came to be regarded as associates of evil. The earliest indication I could find that referenced trouble for raven-furred felines takes us again all the way back into Greek mythology.
Though Zeus was married to Hera, he had multiple affairs. He wanted the beautiful Alcmene, but she was deeply in love with her husband, Amphitryon. Zeus waited until Amphitryon was away on an expedition to take on the young man’s appearance and deceive Alcmene into believing she was sleeping with her own husband. When their union resulted in pregnancy, Hera determined to prevent the birth of that baby.
Alcmene had a servant named Galinthias who foiled Hera’s plan, and the baby, Hercules, was born. Enraged, Hera turned Galinthias into a black cat as punishment and banished her to the underworld. There the cat met Hecate, goddess of death and of sorcery. Hecate had compassion on Galinthias and welcomed her as her purrsonal feline attendant. Galinthias’s myth came to represent any black cat as a potential omen of witchcraft or harbinger of death.
You would not have wanted to be a black cat during the Middle Ages (c. 1100 to 1453). That’s when humans came to associate us even more with black magic. They accused us of consorting not just with witches, but with the devil himself.
Pope Gregory XI published Vox in Rama, a public decree blaming the devil for a growing lack of interest in the Catholic faith, in 1233. Based on the allegations of an inquisitor who tortured false confessions from victims, the Pope asserted in this document that Satan was known to assume the form of a black cat in order to approach and deceive humankind. The Pope’s followers believed his allegations, and black cats became targets of fear, hatred, and slaughter for centuries thereafter.
At one point, humans paid dearly for their ignorance. About 100 million people – almost half of Europe’s population – died between 1347 and 1352 of the Black Plague. The Plague was carried by fleas that infested rats, but mindless panic and fear of death caused people to latch onto the certainty that dogs and cats were responsible for spreading the disease. Thousands of pets were put to death; thus the predators that could have assisted in the annihilation of the Plague’s true carriers were themselves exterminated. Following this mass slaughter of cats – of all coat colors and patterns – the disease-carrying rat population exploded, as did the numbers of human casualties.
Fast-forward to 1600s Colonial America. Deeply religious and tragically superstitious, settlers were convinced that witches could shape-shift into black cats. One story that allegedly took place during the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 claims that a man and his teenage son threw stones at a black cat with intent to kill her as they walked home one night. The cat fled into the home of an elderly woman. The next day, that woman was observed hobbling down the street, bleeding and bruised. This was proof enough to onlookers that she had roamed the village the previous night in the form of the black cat the two men attempted to stone, and people quickly concluded that she must be a witch.
Superstitions persist with some humans who still regard us as bad luck. Cursed. Evil. Unattractive. Even those who joke about us do so by pointing us out as humorously undesirable. We are called basement cats. Halloween cats. Caricatures with backs arched, hackles raised, fangs bared, claws extended. All because of our black fur.
Before we leave the fantasy realm, I have to share that many positive superstitions surround us black cats as well.
For example, single women in Japan who share their homes with black cats are believed to be more attractive to suitors. Black cats are considered the purrfect wedding gift in certain parts of Great Britain. We are thought to bring happiness and good fortune to the bride and her new husband. If you live in Scotland, a stray black cat that comes to your home is welcomed as a sign of upcoming prosperity. Sailors during the 19th century took black cats onto their ships to assure good luck. The wives of fishermen believed that sharing their homes with black cats would promise safe travels and a safe return home for their husbands. And a black cat that crosses your path in Ireland is celebrated as an indicator of good luck!
There are more myths describing how cats came to have nine lives than a polydactyl has toes, so we’ll just file this detail under Fun Fiction and move ahead!
The great news is that we are no longer hated and feared as we once were! Intelligent, cat-loving humans recognize us for what we are: cats who just happen to be born with black fur. And now for reality! Let’s discover some Fascinating Facts about Black Cats!
Though the Bombay breed typifies the most popular depiction of the black cat – short fur, round copper eyes – the Cat Fanciers’ Association recognizes 22 breeds that may have solid black coats. Twenty-two breeds that can be solid black! We are more popular than any other color!
So what makes black cats black? Melanism is the opposite of albinism. Melanin is the pigment that results in black fur on both domestic cats and our wild relatives. There is no such breed as a black panther. Those big black cats are leopards and jaguars who received melanism via a dominant gene. Their spots remain visible in certain light as a black-on-black pattern. Our high melanin pigment is also the reason most of us black cats have such brilliant, alluring, moon-gold eyes.
Our genetics can produce three variations of black cat coats – cinnamon, brown, and true solid black. The variations can include subtle patterns as well. Since most solid-colored coats are caused by a recessive gene that suppresses tabby markings, a solid black coat with a non-recessive tabby gene can “rust” when exposed to heavy sunlight. As the eumelanin pigment in the fur breaks down, brown highlights will appear on the coat, and previously disguised stripes can become visible when the otherwise solid black cat is viewed in bright light.
The gene that produces the black coat color is a dominant gene. Both the sire and the dam must have this dominant gene to produce a solid black kitten.
More black cats are male than are female.
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health believe a cat’s black fur is more about protection from disease than for camouflage. The mutation that results in black fur is part of the same family of genes that provides humans resistance to diseases like HIV.
Black cats have left permanent paw prints on popular culture! Many products are named Black Cat! Fireworks in China, chocolate in Denmark, peanut butter in South Africa; tea, candles, fishing line, athletic shoes, and – how wild is this – parts for construction and mining equipment! Black cats also appear in many logos of companies and products with various names.
We’ve all seen the famous poster advertising Le Chat Noir, “The Black Cat,” a nineteenth-century cabaret in Paris thought to be the very first club where patrons could sit at tables to drink and dine while enjoying variety shows performed on stage.
Black cats are not new to entertainment. Edgar Allan Poe wrote about black cats as creatures of horror. Rudyard Kipling’s Bagheera was a Jungle Book friend. Neil Gaiman’s Black Cat is savior and sacrifice in his story The Price.
Movies, television shows, and cartoons have used animated and animatronic black cats, but very few have used live cats. One outstanding example of real black cats acting in a movie role is the 1993 Halloween favorite Hocus Pocus. Several black cats with individual training, skills, and personalities portrayed the cat Binx, while special effects were employed when the script called for Binx to talk.
So history doesn’t always repeat itself! Most humans now have more sense than to believe ancient superstitions or to discriminate against us because of our color.
I promise: black cats don’t steal souls. We do, however, steal hearts.
We take beauty to an enchanting new level. Our personalities are as varied as cats of all coat colors and patterns are known to be. We share the common purposes of all cats: to participate in our humans’ lives as healers, as therapists, as calming influences, as confidantes, as inspiration and laughter and heart-to-heart companionship and unconditional love.
Each year, August 17 is celebrated as Black Cat Appreciation Day. If you are blessed to share your home with a true house panther, every day is black cat appreciation day in your Extra~Ordinary World!
