Why Cats?

 Why are Cats Associated with Witches?

    When I was thinking about what to write about this week, I realized I am sitting on the couch with my answer- my cat! Cats can be a controversial animal. Sure they can be standoff-ish and are maybe not as loving (at first) as dogs, but why is there a negative light over cats in the first place? Growing up I always heard about never letting a black cat cross your path, or if you have a black cat to hide it on Halloween, but I have never heard an actual reason. 

   The first thing I searched was "why are cats associated with witches" and I immidiately found an article titled "The Power of Black Cats." The article went into a few reasons why black cats intially got linked with witches. To start, the color black is mysterious, therefore, black cats are mysterious. The belief that surrounded cats was that they were spies and aids in witchcraft. Black cats apparently possessed magic powers. The basic reason that black cats got this reputation during the witch trials was because a few of the people accused of witchcraft owned a black cat, leading the qualified jurors to assume that the black cat is also evil. Black cats then were presumed to be evil or a bad omen, something that is still true today. 

    The article goes on to talk about a document the Catholic Church released in 1233. The document basically said kissing or petting a black cat would lead to summoning a devil that had a lower half like a cat. This started a 'war' against black cats, lots of black cats were killed because people thought that they were related to the devil. Cats became a 'clue' as to if someone was a witch or not. There were also ritualistic killings of black cats to 'end spells' and witches could apparently take the body of a black cat. 

    This view of cats, specifically black cats can still be seen today. There are more black cats in shelters because people subconciously decide not to get the black cat. The hysteria around black cats is a great example of the confirmation bias that occured during the witch trials. Society was looking for answers or ways to link particular women together, so they decided to use black cats. Black cats are also seen in witchcraft situations in Egypt and with Greek Gods, already giving them a loaded background. I am interested to learn about other animals or objects that have 'bad omens' for reasons people 500 years ago made up. 

Comments

  1. williams.dan76October 2, 2024 at 7:33 AM

    Great blog, thanks. Reading it made me smile. I am glad you wrote about cats, especially black cats. My wife and I have three cats and once dog. Except for a few white hairs on his chest, one of our cats is black. And he's my darling, as is my dog. In the evening and on weekends I have both following me around the house, and both want to sleep with me. Thanks for your research on cats. Curiously, and sadly, during the Salem hysteria the authorities executed two dogs for witchcraft.

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