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 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.
• Sabrina, The Teenage Witch has a black magical talking cat named Salem.
• Emily the Strange has four black cats: Mystery, Miles, Neechee, and Sabbath.^[11]
• Agatha Harkness, a Marvel Comics character, was a witch with a black cat familiar named Ebony.^[12]

Manga and Anime

• Kutsushita Nyanko (Japanese for "SocksCat") is a traveling black cat that wears white socks. The character was created by San-X.
• Black Cat is a manga featuring an assassin/bounty hunter named Train Heartnet who is nicknamed "Black Cat". The series is written and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki
• 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.
• A tiny black cat named Kuroneko can be seen in every episode of the anime series Trigun.
• Yoruichi Shihōin, a female Shinigami in the series Bleach takes a black cat form.
• The Darker than Black series features a character named Mao who has lost his original body and now resides within that of a black cat.

Cat Information

A black cat is a feline with black fur. It is not a particular breed of cat and may be mixed or of a specific breed. The Bombay, known for its sleek black fur, is an example of a black cat. The all-black pigmentation is equally prevalent in both male and female cats. In some cultures black cats are considered good luck, and in others they are considered 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 consider them to be bad luck as well. The gambling world is afraid of a black cat: it is believed that if, while traveling to a casino, a black cat crosses a gambler's road or path, that person should not go to the casino; most players believe that black cats bring bad luck.^[2] Other black creatures, such as black dogs, have shared in the prejudice and suspicion of being "familiars".

The black cat in folklore has been able 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 Death (bubonic plague) and other diseases carried by rodents.^[3] 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.^[4]

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 luck for their ship.^[5] 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).^[6] Some shelters also stop adoptions of black cats around Halloween for fear they will be tortured. However, in the history of humane work, no one has ever documented any relationship between adopting black cats, and cats being killed or injured.^[7]

Pirates of the 19th century believed that a black cat would bring different kinds of luck. If a black cat walks towards someone, that person will have bad luck. If a black cat walks away from someone then that person will have good luck. If a black cat walks onto a ship and then walks off it, the ship is doomed to sink on its next trip.

Anarcho-syndicalism

Since the 1880s, the colour 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"^[8]—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."^[9]

Black cats in culture

Bohemian culture

• 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.^[10]
• 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.

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Black Cat Habits

We have a cat behavior question about our black cat. She is about 6 months old now and she has always been a little shy. She will not let anyone pick her up, yet she will sit by us. She has never kneaded anyone, she is shy yet sweet, very quiet.

Can a cat have austism??? She will only focus if you move a finger around her paw. She will play with her toys and play with our other cats, the oldest cat treats her like she's her baby and sleeps with her.

We adopted her from a shelter and her tail was broken. We were wondering if there was possible abuse being that she was born Oct 9th and she's completely black. We love her and will take care of her for the rest of her life, we just feel bad for her.

Just wondering if there's something wrong with her mentally AND although her tail is healed , is she in any pain as she grows???? What can we do to help her?

Her name is Bella.


Reply from Liz (Editor): There has been a lot of debate about whether certain types of cat behavior are similar to, or the same has human behavioral problems, you raise a good question.

Some people think cats can be autstic, others don't - and quite honestly I don't know what to believe! But from what you've told me about your cat, I think she sounds like she's doing really well, and I can't pick out any behavioral problems from what you've said that would give me cause for concern.

She will have had a clean bill of health from the shelter I guess, so hopefully her tail is fine. Was the broken end amputated? If not, and she seems to be in pain when you touch her tail, it's probably worth getting her checked over by a vet. She doesn't sound like she is in pain from your description.

Some cats, like some humans, are naturally very shy and quiet. Some don't like being picked up or fussed too much, but are happy to sit close up - or even just in the same room. It sounds as though your cat is one of these, and that's fine. She may become more affectionate over time, whenever she feels ready.

It doesn't sound to me like she's been abused - or at least not systematically. I'd expect an abused cat to be much more wary of humans after the relatively short space of time you've had her, and to either run away or be aggresive when you approached her. She may still be traumatized due to the breaking of her tail - however that happened - but her cat behavior isn't typical of a cat that's been badly and repeatedly abused by humans.

It sounds like she's interacting really well with the other cats, which is a really good achievement in the short time you've had her.

If you're worried she may be in pain, or if you think her eyesight is getting worse, I'd suggest a trip to the vet just to get her a clean bill of health. But from the mental side, I think she sounds fine. She sounds gorgeous and she's very lucky to have been adopted by you as you obviously care for her so much!

Many thanks for your question and for the lovely photo.