So Much for Black Cats being Bad Luck!

With Halloween just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to look up some information about why black cats are connected so closely to witches and Halloween, bad luck and superstition.
Sprinkled in are pics of some black cats we at WIFCaP know and love!

Dating back to the ancient Egyptians , it was believed that black cats were sacred, so they worshipped them. An Egyptian goddess called Pasht was said to have had the body of a woman and the head of a cat. Since the Egyptians believed that Pasht had nine lives, they also believed that all cats did.
The Egyptians were so respectful of black cats that when one died, it was preserved as a mummy, just as Egyptians rulers were. Cemeteries have been found with mummified bodies of thousands of black cats, plus mummified mice to accompany them into the next world!

Our Beautiful Zeva - One of WIFCaP's first for "spa treatment"!

 Another tidbit found on the internet:

"If you believe that a black cat crossing your path is bad luck, you believe in witchcraft.
Legend has its that in the 1560s in England, a father and son threw stones at a cat that had startled them on a moonless night.
The wounded cat ran into the nearby home of a suspected witch.
The next day the old woman was seen in public limping and bruised, and a superstition was born which caused the burning alive of innocent women in the seventeenth century."

But there is actually more written in folk-lore about the GOOD LUCK black cats bring than bad...here are a few!

Black cat, cross my path
Good fortune bring to home and hearth
When I am away from home
Bring me luck wherever I roam

- Old English Charm 

* Freya, the Norse Goddess of Love & Fertility drives a chariot pulled by two black cats.

* To dream of a black cat is thought by many people to be a lucky omen.

* Many theater folk love cats, perhaps because they, too, were once ostracized and shunned. It is believed that a black cat in the audience on opening night portends a successful play.


* In the south of France, black cats are referred to as "matagots" or "magician cats." According to local superstition, they bring good luck to owners who feed them well and treat them with the respect they deserve.

* Fisherman's wives kept black cats while their husbands went away to sea believing that the black cats would prevent danger from occurring to their husbands. These black cats were treated like royalty and were considered so valuable that they were often stolen. At one point, they became so expense that few fisher folk could afford them.

Whenever the cat of the house is black,
The lasses of lovers will have no lack.

~ English Proverb

(the above from fullcirclenews.blogspot.com)

Also black cats and all cats are honored and held sacred in the county of Japan.  

AVCheryl with a black kitty we were able to find a home for!

It seems the bad luck superstition has overpowered the good luck and because of it, black cats are the last to be adopted and the first to euthanized in shelters.

Arya-found wandering and alone now belongs to Kathy's son!

What we know is that black cats  are lovely creatures and each that we have had a joy to know, has been more than purrfect!

Sherman found in a ditch outside a distribution center, has a new lease on life with Linda!

When a black kitty finds it way to AVC or WIFCaP we are thrilled.  We always know a piece of our heart will leave with them when they find their furever home!

Edwyn - found in Walnut and adopted  by our friend Autumn in Omaha!

We hope you will all have fun during this Halloween season, but please, if you own a black cat, keep it inside and safe.  And if you are looking to adopt a new cat/kitten...wont you please pick a black one??

Visions of What Could Be!

Lucy and Ricky watch my baby Boo eating his food from the outside dish.  Boo has been sleeping on the front porch and makes daily appearances to eat.  What must be going on in the heads of my kitties? Ricky for sure is wishing he could get out there with Boo.  He has escaped out the front door 3 times in the last few days.  He has cabin fever in a major way.  I put him out on the balcony yesterday for an hour or more and that seemed to help, but he sure wishes he was an outdoor cat.  Maybe they are wondering what it would be like to live outside.  One thing is for sure they would rather have Boo's food.  I feed them all natural, expensive stuff that is good for them, and just like humans, they would rather have the junk food!

A Little Did Ya Know About Cats

According to an analysis by Veterinary Pet Insurance of 450,000 clients, MAX has been the most popular name for cats and dogs over the past five years.  A spokesperson for the company speculated that not only is it an easy name to say, but it cant be confused with ordinary one word commands.  The next four favorites on the list: Chloe, Lucy (yeehaw!) Tigger and Tiger.

MEOW!

Snowy days...fearful feeders...

Ricky is ab0ut to either burn his tail, his nose or the house down!

Lucy is being a "good girl" napping beneath the tree...

The weather has been so cold and nasty. We had 3-4" of snow on top of 2 degree weather. Myself and several of the other community cat "feeders" are worried to tears for our babies that live outside. The bed I made for "Boo" or whoever decided to sleep under my porch is getting snow inside, so if I can, I will try to make it better tomorrow. All the food was gone this morning, so someone is eating, but no one is in sight. All we can do is try to give them a warm place to sleep and keep their tummys full...

A Little Did Ya Know About Cats...

Trivia is good and fun, but my little did ya know may also feature some helpful info about our feline friends...please enjoy. Christmas is a time of good cheer, but for cats there are certain hazards that must be taken into account. Hanging tinsel, dangling ornaments and lit candles are especially tempting, so make sure the tree is firmly secured and accessible to Kitty only when you are on the scene. I have a friend that puts a big hook on the ceiling to tie the tree top to, just to make sure it doesnt fall over...

Boo Kitty

Boo Kitty

This is "Boo-Kitty", my new porch cat...another feral. This one is somewhat familiar though. He has been coming around since he was a kitten and I have posted pics of him before. I hadn't seen him around for weeks, but now that Toby is gone, he must feel safe enough to come. He spend a whole 24 hours sleeping on a lawn chair cushion next to the back steps, but now its so cold, I haven't seen him. The food on the back porch is disappearing so some one is eating it. I hope its him. Larry and I fashioned a bed of sorts semi-underneath the porch, and someone has been sleeping there...This frigid cold weather concerns me for these babies. I will try to get him very used to spending time here before I attempt to trap him and take him in for his neuter. He initially was hanging around my house during Halloween, he looks totally black, so "Boo" seemed to fit. He isn't all black tho, he has some white strands of hair sprinkled around, and when he rolls on his back he has a nice sized patch of white on his lower belly...he's a beauty!

A Little Did Ya Know about Cats....

Did you know that every cat's nose pad. or nose leather, has unique characteristics? Just as no two humans have the same fingerprints, its a fact that no two feline nose prints are ever alike! Meow!