PawsPartners - An Alliance for the Animals
  • Home
  • APAL
    • A-PAL History >
      • A-PAL Humane Society Leadership Team
      • APAL Leadership Opportunities
    • APAL Programs >
      • The Rusty Fund >
        • Rusty's Pet Tails
      • Save the Kittens
      • Spay or Neuter
      • Second Chance K9
      • Community Cats >
        • Understanding Feral Cats
        • How to Trap a Feral Cat
      • Special Needs >
        • Special Needs Stories
      • Adopt a Friend
      • Trap-Neuter-Return
      • APAL Tracking Our Progress
    • Support A-PAL >
      • Volunteer for APAL
      • Foster for A-Pal >
        • Foster Forms >
          • Foster Program Protocol
          • Kitten Health Checklist
          • Kitten Growth Chart
          • Guide to Feline URI
      • Donate to A-PAL >
        • Donate your Car
      • A-PAL Wish List
      • A-PAL Facility Sponsor
    • Partners >
      • Shelter Partners >
        • Dec14News-PitBulls
        • Jan15News-Excel
        • Feb15News-BenefitsOfPets
        • Feb15News-HarmfulAlgaeBlooms
        • Mar15News-Hoarding
        • Apr15News-TNR
        • Sep15News-QAMargeB
        • Oct15News-ButteFire
        • Oct15News-Bats
        • Dec15News-Tips4Treats
        • Jan16-Volunteer
        • Apr16-TNR
        • July16News-Center
        • Sep16News-ACART
        • Nov17News-ServiceDogs
  • TCWC
    • Find an animal in need? >
      • Audio Wildlife Tips
      • Contact TCWC
    • TCWC History >
      • TCWC Leadership Team
      • TCWC Leadership Opportunities
    • Wildlife Programs >
      • Education >
        • TCWC Education Events >
          • TCWC Education Animals
        • WildlifeSavesUs
        • Living Wildlife Friendly >
          • To Tree Or Not To Tree
          • Save the Bees
          • Holiday Decorations
          • Kill That Lawn
          • Songbird Concert Tips
          • Holiday Trash
          • Alert Your Birds
          • Water to Help the Critters!
          • Bread is for Sandwiches
          • No Dogs Allowed
          • Repurpose to Feed the Birds
          • GoNative
          • Netting It Out
          • Balloons
          • E-Waste
          • Organic Food
          • AllThatGlitters
          • Fly Strips and Glue Traps
          • Toxic Household Products
          • Recycling Pumpkins
          • Tree Trimming Tips
          • Saving Venomous Species
          • Think Biodegradeable
        • Nuisance Wildlife >
          • Nuisance-SayNoToTrapping
          • Foxlights
          • Wildproof Your Home
        • Gold Country Critters
        • Keep Them Wild and Free
        • TCWC Videos
        • Points to Ponder
      • TCWC-Tracking Our Progress >
        • TCWC 2016 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2017 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2018 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2019 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2020 Impact Report
      • TCWC Patients >
        • Success Stories >
          • 1 - Opossum Call
          • 2 - Raccoon Behind the Grill!
          • 3 - Saving a Raven
          • LongTripHome
          • Anita's Bird Comes Home
          • College the Wild Way
          • Releases
        • TCWC Critter Show
    • Support TCWC >
      • Giving >
        • Shop-Create
        • TCWC Wish List
        • Donate to TCWC >
          • DonateCarToTCWC
      • Volunteer at TCWC
      • TCWC Supporters
      • Sponsor a TCWC Critter
  • Support
    • PawsPartners Events >
      • SPAYghetti
    • Donate
    • Volunteer
  • Paws News
    • PawsPartners Social Feed
    • Newsletters >
      • TCWC Newsletter
      • A-PAL Newsletter
      • ShelterPartnersNews
    • Blog
  • Gratitude
    • TCWC-Gratitude >
      • BusinessSupporters
      • Our Volunteers
      • InMemoriam >
        • Sandy
        • Cockrill
        • Glenyce
  • About
    • Contact TCWC
    • Contact A-PAL
    • Privacy Policy
    • Affiliations
    • Links >
      • ContentSubmissionForm
    • Critter Chronicles >
      • Watson
      • Don't Fawn!
      • Art - the Cooper's Hawk
      • Mugsy-CommunityCat
      • Trash Kitty!
      • Gretchen&Ginger
      • MajesticBird
      • DuckTherapy
      • MrJunco
      • TheOddCouple
      • The Twins
      • WillToSurvive
      • MeetMandy
      • Furrever - Chloe
      • Charlie the Corgi
    • Kids
    • Shop >
      • Learn More >
        • Promote Our Store
        • Submit Art
      • Volunteer Gear
      • Shop These Stores
      • Shop PawsPartners
      • Shop TCWC
      • Shop A-PAL Humane Society
    • Site Credits
  • SiteMap
  • SPAYghetti tickets
  • Home
  • APAL
    • A-PAL History >
      • A-PAL Humane Society Leadership Team
      • APAL Leadership Opportunities
    • APAL Programs >
      • The Rusty Fund >
        • Rusty's Pet Tails
      • Save the Kittens
      • Spay or Neuter
      • Second Chance K9
      • Community Cats >
        • Understanding Feral Cats
        • How to Trap a Feral Cat
      • Special Needs >
        • Special Needs Stories
      • Adopt a Friend
      • Trap-Neuter-Return
      • APAL Tracking Our Progress
    • Support A-PAL >
      • Volunteer for APAL
      • Foster for A-Pal >
        • Foster Forms >
          • Foster Program Protocol
          • Kitten Health Checklist
          • Kitten Growth Chart
          • Guide to Feline URI
      • Donate to A-PAL >
        • Donate your Car
      • A-PAL Wish List
      • A-PAL Facility Sponsor
    • Partners >
      • Shelter Partners >
        • Dec14News-PitBulls
        • Jan15News-Excel
        • Feb15News-BenefitsOfPets
        • Feb15News-HarmfulAlgaeBlooms
        • Mar15News-Hoarding
        • Apr15News-TNR
        • Sep15News-QAMargeB
        • Oct15News-ButteFire
        • Oct15News-Bats
        • Dec15News-Tips4Treats
        • Jan16-Volunteer
        • Apr16-TNR
        • July16News-Center
        • Sep16News-ACART
        • Nov17News-ServiceDogs
  • TCWC
    • Find an animal in need? >
      • Audio Wildlife Tips
      • Contact TCWC
    • TCWC History >
      • TCWC Leadership Team
      • TCWC Leadership Opportunities
    • Wildlife Programs >
      • Education >
        • TCWC Education Events >
          • TCWC Education Animals
        • WildlifeSavesUs
        • Living Wildlife Friendly >
          • To Tree Or Not To Tree
          • Save the Bees
          • Holiday Decorations
          • Kill That Lawn
          • Songbird Concert Tips
          • Holiday Trash
          • Alert Your Birds
          • Water to Help the Critters!
          • Bread is for Sandwiches
          • No Dogs Allowed
          • Repurpose to Feed the Birds
          • GoNative
          • Netting It Out
          • Balloons
          • E-Waste
          • Organic Food
          • AllThatGlitters
          • Fly Strips and Glue Traps
          • Toxic Household Products
          • Recycling Pumpkins
          • Tree Trimming Tips
          • Saving Venomous Species
          • Think Biodegradeable
        • Nuisance Wildlife >
          • Nuisance-SayNoToTrapping
          • Foxlights
          • Wildproof Your Home
        • Gold Country Critters
        • Keep Them Wild and Free
        • TCWC Videos
        • Points to Ponder
      • TCWC-Tracking Our Progress >
        • TCWC 2016 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2017 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2018 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2019 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2020 Impact Report
      • TCWC Patients >
        • Success Stories >
          • 1 - Opossum Call
          • 2 - Raccoon Behind the Grill!
          • 3 - Saving a Raven
          • LongTripHome
          • Anita's Bird Comes Home
          • College the Wild Way
          • Releases
        • TCWC Critter Show
    • Support TCWC >
      • Giving >
        • Shop-Create
        • TCWC Wish List
        • Donate to TCWC >
          • DonateCarToTCWC
      • Volunteer at TCWC
      • TCWC Supporters
      • Sponsor a TCWC Critter
  • Support
    • PawsPartners Events >
      • SPAYghetti
    • Donate
    • Volunteer
  • Paws News
    • PawsPartners Social Feed
    • Newsletters >
      • TCWC Newsletter
      • A-PAL Newsletter
      • ShelterPartnersNews
    • Blog
  • Gratitude
    • TCWC-Gratitude >
      • BusinessSupporters
      • Our Volunteers
      • InMemoriam >
        • Sandy
        • Cockrill
        • Glenyce
  • About
    • Contact TCWC
    • Contact A-PAL
    • Privacy Policy
    • Affiliations
    • Links >
      • ContentSubmissionForm
    • Critter Chronicles >
      • Watson
      • Don't Fawn!
      • Art - the Cooper's Hawk
      • Mugsy-CommunityCat
      • Trash Kitty!
      • Gretchen&Ginger
      • MajesticBird
      • DuckTherapy
      • MrJunco
      • TheOddCouple
      • The Twins
      • WillToSurvive
      • MeetMandy
      • Furrever - Chloe
      • Charlie the Corgi
    • Kids
    • Shop >
      • Learn More >
        • Promote Our Store
        • Submit Art
      • Volunteer Gear
      • Shop These Stores
      • Shop PawsPartners
      • Shop TCWC
      • Shop A-PAL Humane Society
    • Site Credits
  • SiteMap
  • SPAYghetti tickets
Why are Black Cats a Symbol for Halloween?

The longstanding relationship between Halloween and the black cat may very well have started with the very fact that it is black. Black has long been associated with evil, due to the human’s primal fear of the night. Traditionally, white has been a symbol of goodness and purity while black represents danger and evil. But there is more to it than the color
of the cat. A black cat’s fur blends with the night, but its eyes are specially adapted to collect available light, making them glow, particularly at night-time, and giving them a mysterious, not-of-this-world look. Being primarily nocturnal, cats have plenty of opportunity to show that peculiar, scary look. For centuries, black cats have played a major role in folklore, superstition, and mythology.

Pagan religions such as witchcraft originally identified with the animals of nature, including the cat. However, after the rise of Christianity, the church decided witchcraft was evil, and cats, since they were associated with witches, were deemed evil by proxy. Some thought that witches had the ability to change shape into a cat, and cats were often tortured and killed by Christian puritans along with the accused witches.

In many cultures, bad luck was attributed to cats. Supposedly, King Charles I of England owned a black cat and the day his cat died, he was arrested. It was an old sailor's legend that encountering a cat in the shipyard meant a stormy voyage or other bad luck. In Babylonian folklore, a curled-up cat on the hearth was a symbol comparable to that of an
evil serpent.

Still, not every culture thought that black cats were bad luck. In ancient Egypt, cats were held in very high esteem. To kill one, even accidentally, was punishable by death. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that when a cat died, the household would go into mourning as if for a human, and family members would often shave their eyebrows to signify their grief. Ancient Egyptians often mummified their cats so that they could accompany them in the afterlife.

Remember, cat lovers--especially on dark and stormy nights--what cats have been through to get to the place they hold in our hearts today!
site map