My Experience with a black cat

Strange appearance of a black kitten.
Photograph by 'Tanya Aggarwal'

Hey!
I have been talking a lot about black cats lately, and you all might be wondering that did I ever had an acquaintance with a black cat?
Well,apparently Yes!

It was a cold Sunday morning. As quiet as one could imagine! My own cat was out, sitting in our Veranda and watching the world (and dogs fighting with each other!) My mom was making us breakfast when we heard  a very low but loud meow coming from outside. Scared that something might have happened to our cat, we rushed to look out for her. As soon as we opened the door, we were greeted by this little kitten, all black, yellow eyes, thick fur and fat kitten - who must be aged between 2-3 weeks. First time in my life I saw  A BLACK CAT!

Seeing us, she started meowing even more. I was so excited as well as astonished because a black kitten,so young that too, coming to our house is a difficult task for the stray dogs are always sitting in front of my house (maybe because of my habit of feeding them regularly!)

My pet cat did not accept her presence which was quite evident from her howling on the kitten.She fluffed up her tail, humped her back and screamed loud (maybe to 'shoo off' the kitten.) The kitten didn't mind it at all and gave no attention to my cat. She finished her milk and went to hide between the miscellaneous things lying in our veranda while I kept peeking after every five minute to keep a check on the kitty! (I was a bit too excited about the strange appearance of the black cat)!

On the breakfast table, we all started discussing the various ways the kitten could come to our house. Maybe she got lost from her mom or maybe her mom left her purposefully at our place. One thing that also caught our attention was maybe 'black magic'? After all, myths and superstitions are there about strange appearance of a black cat.
Because it was cold outside, I made her a Sweater out of old socks we had, and made her wear it!
It was mid afternoon when I realised that the kitty had pooped and it ought to be cleaned. I was devastated because the cat dirtied the veranda as well as herself. Her clothe got dirty.It was so young that it didn't even know how to poop properly! I swore to clean the veranda as well as the kitten!
Fetched hot water-shampoo-clean cloth-another socks. Holding the kitten from her scurf, I started to wipe her. That is when I realised that the kitten had a very strange smell. Not the normal kind, odour that even shampoo couldn't neutralise.

It was evening by the time wiping and cleaning was finished. I placed a carton with a sack inside it for the kitten to hide at night ( and to avoid cold wind)!  But, When It was dark and I went to check again on her, she was gone. How, Where, When - was not known!

We prayed for her well being and the day ended.

The questions that this encounter left me with were, is black magic real? How could such a young kitten who couldn't even walk properly appear at our veranda? Where did she come from? Who is her mother? Where did she go?

But, Hopefully till now nothing bad happened.
The black cat came and went away, maybe her mother left her there and took her when it was dark,
After all, Its Not a cat's fault that she is born BLACK!

Black Cats are not negative!

Even Though You Think That I Am A Witch reborn, But I am not And I  Promise You That I will Never let you down!

Picture edit by Tanya Aggarwal

Fall of Cats

The Fall of cats

During the medieval times, cats started being associated with witches. Witches were women who has magical powers and used that to cure and heal people and also to help them.

A witch's Black Cat.
Photograph from Google images.

Later,the witches were considered as those who did black magic and had associations with the Satan. Thus the cats were blamed to be evil and were considered to be included in the black magic as well.

Black Death, Europe

The spread of plague, was caused by the rodents. But the people blamed the cats, stating that cats are witches in disguise and have done some black magic which caused the plague. Thousands of Cats were burnt alive under this pretext. Very late it was realized that it was the rodents who were the reason behind the plague and the departed souls could have helped to control it.But still, the cats were already defamed.
Since then, the cats carried the image of evil and bad. Since then, they are considered the harbinger of bad luck and negativity. 

Origin of cats and their rise

Cats in ancient Egypt adorned in gold.

History of cats started way back to the ancient Egyptians 4000 years ago. The Egyptians domesticated cat to control vermin which was harming crop and causing disease. Cats being very good at catching rats attracted them to stay at the place and not leave it. Because of this the way of living of Egyptians changed and cats became a symbol of life thus becoming sacred creatures.They were associated with Goddess Bastet,who was considered the God of well being, fertility and goddess of cat.
Exporting a cat out of Egypt and killing a cat,both were punishable by death.

Goddess Bastet;The Goddess of cat.

During battle of Pelusium (between Egypt and Persia), Persians made representation of Bastet on their armour because of which the Egyptians could not attack them and lost the battle.Thus, letting out cats of Egypt by Persians. That's how the cat spread across the world.

Mummified Cat.

Death of a cat in a family was evidenced by deep mourning and all the members of family shaving off their eyebrows. They came out of mourning when the eyebrows grew back.

The status of cats were so high that they were even mummified and then buried.
The Pharaohs buried were guarded by cat statues on either side.

Images from Google image.

Superstitions on a cat

There are many superstitions surrounding a cat (black cat,in particular). 

• If a black cat crosses your path, it is considered a bad omen while a cat giving birth to kittens at your house is considered a good one.
• A cat crying facing you house is a sign of ill health or even death of a family member whereas hearing a cat sneeze is supposed to bring you good luck.
• If you see black cat early morning then your whole day is ruined.
• Cats are witches in disguise.
• A cat has nine lives.
• If you kill a cat then you have to donate a cat made of gold or else black luck will be until then.

Many of these may be true or may not be.Many people believe in these superstitions while many don't. What I want to discuss now and later is the concept of a black cat being associated with witches. Black cats were considered the 'familiars' which is a friend of a witch. 

Why was it that a cat only was associated with a witch? -Why not a dog or rabbit or any other animal?

Cats were more often associated with evil than other animals because of their nocturnal and independent nature. cats have been a mystery as well as loved by many and hated by others.They have distinct personalities and a seemingly mysterious way and thus have been mistaken for being evil. Also, because of their ability to remain unseen in dark places/night, they were considered an  ideal  witch partner.

Lets get introduced!

Have you ever wondered what it is like to have a Cat?

Today, i am going to talk about our purry furry friends, the little fur balls - CATS.

Now a days,almost all the households have a pet. Not only has it become a status symbol,but also provides companionship to the lonely whilst creating a very positive and friendly environment in the house.
A dog is the most common pet that can be found in most of the households,but you might find a cat too in a few! (like mine,obviously being the reason why i am writing this?).

In India, cats have always been misunderstood as being evil and negative. A big line of myths and superstitions follow them. However it is not the case.There is a reason how they developed the image they have right now. But does anyone ever tried to find that out? certainly,no! And that's why they carry a negative image of cat. When I decided to pet a cat, many people objected and questioned my decision.They would advise me that keeping a cat would bring bad luck to your house, things will start falling apart and everything else that the society believes in.But, I was firm on my decision and planned not to change it. And, guess what? Everyone was proved wrong.
Nothing fell apart, Good luck came to my family and everything nice happened.I didn't see anything bad or evil or negative as such? But I always wondered that when cats are so nice and bring so much positivity in my life then why and how did these superstitions are there? How did they come into existence? Who made them?
All these questions lead me to a journey. A journey filled with a lot of questions to be answered.
It taught me how black cats were associated with witches,which being the reason why they were portrayed so negatively (and still are!). Were they really negative? Did Witches used to be bad and evil?
There's a answer to every question!
And when I got the answers, I wanted the world to  know it too. And so,that's how I ended up researching all about the feline creature.

Image from Google images.