The Black Cat

The black cat is a feline whose fur is uniformly or mostly black. It is not a particular breed of cat and may be mixed or of a specific breed. In Western history, black cats have often been looked upon as a symbol of bad omens. The all-black pigmentation is equally prevalent in both male and female cats, and typically skips one generation due to the characteristic's association with the X-chromosome.

Historical associations

Historically, black cats were symbolically associated with witchcraft and evil. In Hebrew and Babylonian folklore, cats are compared to serpents, coiled on a hearth. In the Middle Ages, Germanic peoples and the Normans associated the black cat with "bad luck". To some, they were an omen of impending death. On roads, a black cat crossing one's path was considered a signal of danger ahead.

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 is associated with anarcho-syndicalism, a branch of anarchism that focuses on workers' rights. Anarchists, Situationists and Revolutionary Industrial Unionists (such as the IWW) believe that wildcat strikes could be the spark for revolution.

In the 1930s, the Wiccan religious tradition emerged. Since much of Wicca is reconstructed from supposed witchcraft practices, the black cat was adopted as a Wiccan symbol.

The archaic associations of black cats with bad luck or evil once appeared frequently in North American popular culture, but are no longer widely held. In the early years of television, several stations located on "unlucky" channel 13 made sport of the association by using black cats as mascots. Contrarily in the UK black cats are the most well known sign of good luck and have always been so. By some human beings, black cats are seen as desirable pets.

Eveready Batteries uses a black cat leaping through the digit 9 as its logo - one of the most recognizable company trademarks.