Historically, black cats were symbolically associated with witchcraft and evil. In Hebrew and Babylonian folklore, cats are compared to serpents, coiled on a hearth. The cat was worshipped in Egypt and to kill one was a crime punishable by death. When an Egyptian family's cat died, the cat was mummified and the family went into mourning. Romans, also, considered the cat sacred and introduced the animal into Europe. In most European countries, except Britain and Ireland, a black cat crossing one's path is considered bad luck; they were also seen by the church as associated with witches. Black cats (and sometimes, other animals of the same colour, or even white cats) were sometimes suspected of being the familiars of witches. Black cats were believed to be shape shifters, that witches could transform into them by saying a spell and travel about doing evil things unnoticed. According to sources witches took such good care of their cats for this reason and it was rumored that they even fed them the blood of babies to stay youthful and agile. As the cat was a form of its witch owner it was believed that by harming a cat you were directly harming its witch. Many also believed that the devil regularly took the form of a black cat. Because of this on holy days, such as Easter, during the Middle Ages black cats were routinely hunted down and burned. By the 17th Century, however, the cat began to be associated with witchcraft and its luck turned from good to bad in many areas around the world. The black cat was still usually seen as good luck; however, in the British Colonies in North America and parts of Europe (e.g. Spain), which saw witch hunts, the association with witches caused them to be considered as bad luck.
In Scotland, a strange black cat on your porch is a sign of upcoming prosperity. In Ireland, when a black cat crosses your path in the moonlight, it means there is going to be an epidemic illness. In Italy hundreds of years ago, it was believed that if a black cat lay on the bed of a sick person, that person would die. Many years ago in England, fishermen's wives kept black cats in their homes while their husbands went away to sea in their fishing boats. They believed that the black cats would prevent danger from occurring to their husbands while they were away. Superstitions centering around the black cat are some of the most widely known and popular superstitions.
In places which saw few witch hunts, black cats retained their status as good luck, and are still considered as such in Britain and Ireland. They are also considered to be good luck on ships.
However in Romanian and Indian culture, especially in the historical region of Moldavia in Romania and everywhere in India, one of the strongest superstitions still feared by many people is that black cats crossing their path represents bad luck, despite the fact that these regions were never affected by witch hunts or anti-paganism. An identical superstition survives also in Central Europe, such as the Czech Republic. There are also still myths and superstitions in America about black cats, and especially their bones, which are believed to hold magical powers. There is an Internet black market for the sale of black cat bones to be used in various ways to bring luck and power to the bearer of the bone.
Egyptians were known to idolize cats and treated them like royalty. A cemetery was found that contained thousands of mummies of black cats. To kill a cat was punishable by death. They saw the cat as a nocturnal creature that walked the shadows in great confidence with the fine ability to feel and sense the surroundings in the dark of night. Therefore it would be seen as an animal of the afterlife.
In Britain and Japan, a black cat crossing your path will bring good luck, but it’s considered bad luck in the U.S. and several European countries.
A Scottish superstition considers a black cat on your porch a sign of prosperity. Latvian farmers believe black cats in their grain silos to be the spirit of Rungis, a god of harvests. In contrast, the Chinese believed black cats are the harbingers of famine and poverty.
In Finland, black cats were thought to carry the souls of the dead to the other world.
The Celts thought black cats were reincarnated beings able to see the future.
In India, it is believed that a reincarnated soul may be liberated by throwing a black cat into a fire.
In Bengali folklore, women could change their soul into a black cat and that any harm brought to the cat would be suffered by the women.
In Normandy, it was believed that if a black cat crossed your path in moonlight you would probably die in an epidemic.
In Russia, there’s the belief that if a black cat crosses a person’s path, that person should choose another direction to avoid the cat’s path or cross it holding a button (from your shirt or jacket). And then there’s the Russian Blue cat (blue being a dilute of black), said to be a favorite of Tsar Nicholas I; they’re supposed to bring good luck.
