# Black cats and animal sacrifice **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 13, 2009, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631 "2009-06-13T02:34:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631/21 "2009-06-14T06:30:50Z")
Wiccans address this [here](http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usfl&c=holidays&id=2547). They blame the nutters. [Snopes has a decent](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/mayhem/blackcat.asp)articlethats pretty skeptical of the witchcraft claims. [This NatGeo](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/10/071026-halloween-cat.html) article is also skeptical. My own experiences with Satanists, drug culture, paganists, and other alt-types in my youth showed me that these people are probably more cowardly and violence fearing than the average person. I also vote teens and nutters. ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631/22 "2009-06-14T06:32:12Z")
There’s probably also something to be said about ignorant middle class parents spoiling their children with Holiday adoptions and eventually letting the cat go free, like rabbits on Easter. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631/23 "2009-06-14T19:51:56Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t know about curses, but there’s plenty of cussing when you’re trying to navigate in a dark house and three black pets are winding around your feet. My mom’s old cat Spunky used to always sit on one of the basement steps, so whenever you were going down to the basement you always had to skip the step she was sitting on. Except that she could be on any given step, and being a black cat in a dark basement, it was almost impossible to tell which one. So I got into the habit of skipping _all_ of the basement steps. Mom has always had black cats around the place, and I’ve never found any of them to be bad luck. Calicoes, though, are a different story. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631/24 "2009-06-15T03:02:13Z")
> [@HorseloverFat](#): > > There’s probably also something to be said about ignorant middle class parents spoiling their children with Holiday adoptions and eventually letting the cat go free, like rabbits on Easter. Psst!!! Posts #7 & #9! Hell, a few months ago when Piper was constipated after eating some plastic flowers (she has [pica](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_(disorder))), it was HELL trying to catch her to give her her medicine. And once we got a hold of her, trying to KEEP hold of her was a total bitch. I’d like to see someone TRY to get their hands on her. 😉 Again, most animal mutilations and abuse is done not by so-called “Satanists” but by sociopaths in the making. That’s usually a major warning sign in kids that there’s something seriously wrong. (That’s how Dahmer and Bundy got their starts) ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631/25 "2009-06-15T03:28:35Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > The biggest issue with black cats/kittens in shelters is that they are typically harder to adopt out, because some people are still bizarrely superstitious about them. In my area some shelters will even give you extra cat-swag like free scratching pads if you adopt black cats/kittens. > > Personally, I’m fond of the little [bad luck charms](http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/Timur_photo/cats/IMG_4181.jpg) ;). No, no, no! tell them they have it wrong. Doesn’t everyone know that black cats are good luck when they come to your house. I know this 'caus my grandfather told me so. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631/26 "2009-06-15T04:56:42Z")
Our bad luck charm is a [grey and brown tabby](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/Guinastasia/Kitties/maggiexmas.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631/27 "2009-06-15T13:21:37Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Those _are_ pretty awesome - sure you didn’t stick in some contacts ;)? > > Kidding, of course. I once knew a cat that had almost phosphorescent orange eyes, nearly as striking as your **Paris**. We only found this out years after we’d been adopted by our Princess Chocolate Pudding (I did NOT name her!), but apparently the small, slender black cats with orange to greenish eyes are a breed called [Bombay](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombay_(cat)). I’m pretty sure that there are black generic domestic shorthairs, too, that have heavier (“cobby”-type) bodies. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631/28 "2009-06-15T18:24:12Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > There’s a difference between saying “yes, that superstition exists” and elaborating in detail and pointing to a printed source so some meathead can nab a black cat and try it for himself. I don’t see where we have to make some things easier. Yeah, 'cause this board is full of crazy people who are going to engage in a fairly gruesome practice just because someone mentioned it. :rolleyes: Maybe next we can discuss decriminalizing narcotics so that we can all turn into heroin addicts. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631/29 "2009-06-15T19:30:41Z")
Our [Mystery](http://www.flickr.com/photos/9624983@N05/2484571896/)is black. As far as I know, the only ones she’s unlucky for are birds and small rodents. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631/30 "2009-06-15T22:54:02Z")
The occult shop down the street (part Santeria, part New Age, part Old Slavic Folklore) sells a mass manufactured brand of “allegedBlack Cat Bone” which I’m pretty sure is just chicken bone in a very cool illustrated bag. They also sell alleged bat’s heart which I’m positive is chicken heart. Obviously, some people will insist on doing the sacrifice themselves in order to be sure of getting the genuine article. I haven’t seen any connection between the black cat folklore and Halloween. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go sacrifice several bats and smear myself with the blood of a whale (It cost a lot to get that shipped fresh from Japan) in order to improve my tv reception. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631/31 "2009-06-15T23:02:11Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Yeah, 'cause this board is full of crazy people who are going to engage in a fairly gruesome practice just because someone mentioned it. :rolleyes: Maybe next we can discuss decriminalizing narcotics so that we can all turn into heroin addicts. No kidding. If it’s well known enough to be on wiki, I don’t think posting it here is going to make much difference. This is kind of like saying, “Hey, murder and torture are bad, let’s not publish gory details of serial killer/torturers because someone might do that.” If some sicko is pervy enough to torture a cat, I don’t think seeing it on a message board will push him/her over the edge. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631/32 "2009-06-16T00:00:02Z")
It occurs to me the OP’s name is a [del]purrfect[/del] perfect match for the topic. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631/33 "2009-06-16T00:06:24Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > It occurs to me the OP’s name is a [del]purrfect[/del] perfect match for the topic. I disagree. The Lurking Horror is a Lovecraft reference. Howard Philips Lovecraft was quite the cat lover. Though he wrote often of human sacrifice, the idea of feline sacrifice was anathema to him. For a cite I give [The Cats Of Ulthar](http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/thecatsofulthar.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631/34 "2009-06-16T01:26:45Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Again, most animal mutilations and abuse is done not by so-called “Satanists” but by sociopaths in the making. That’s usually a major warning sign in kids that there’s something seriously wrong. (That’s how Dahmer and Bundy got their starts) From what I learned when I volunteered at an animal shelter, most mutilations are actually done by coyotes, which don’t eat the whole cat but usually just the stomach area, which people interpret as the work of Satanists. On the subject of animal shelters, I’ve also heard the theory that black animals are less likely to get adopted in part because they often don’t photograph well. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631/35 "2009-06-16T03:18:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Mom has always had black cats around the place, and I’ve never found any of them to be bad luck. Calicoes, though, are a different story. When I was growing up Black Cats were particularly bad luck for ant hills, but only in the first week of July. ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@Black\_Sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Sunshine)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631/36 "2009-06-16T13:57:12Z")
We had some angsty teens in my area when I was growing up who most certainly did “sacrifice” some dogs and cats. I think they just took what they could get their hands on, though. I’m sure Satan, and the Goddess, and whoever else they were claiming to worship, were quite embarrassed. The rescue from whom we adopted [Mr. Watson Bits](http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a141/blacksunshyn/?action=view¤t=HPIM0080.jpg) had tons of black cats, and tried to push all his littermates on me. I’ll never have another non-black cat. Their fur blends in to my pant legs so much better! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cats-and-animal-sacrifice/499631.md?page=1)