A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur. They may be a specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular or mixed breed. Most black cats have golden irises due to their high melanin pigment content. Black cats are the subject of myth, legend, and superstition. They are often associated with witches and good or bad luck in European folklore.
The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 22 cat breeds that can come with solid black coats. [1] The Bombay breed is exclusively black.
Any cat whose fur is a single color, including black, is known as a "solid" or "self". A "solid black" cat may be coal black, grayish black, or brownish black. Most solid-colored cats result from a recessive gene that suppresses the tabby pattern. Sometimes the tabby pattern is not completely suppressed; faint markings may appear in certain lights, even on a solid black cat. A cat having black fur with white roots is known as a "black smoke". [2]
Black cats can also "rust" in sunlight, the coat turning a lighter brownish-red shade. [2] Eumelanin, the pigment required to produce the black fur, is somewhat fragile, so the rusting effect can be more pronounced in cats that frequently spend time in the sun. A rarer situation that can also cause rusting is a deficiency of the amino acid tyrosine, which is required to produce eumelanin. [3]
In addition to the Bombay, the Cat Fanciers' Association allows solid black as a color option in 21 other breeds. The color description for those breeds is:
The exceptions are:
The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with the English-speaking world and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(May 2020) |
The superstitions surrounding black cats vary from culture to culture, and black cats have positive associations in the Celtic nations and England, where a black cat crossing your path is considered good luck. [5] In 2014, the animal welfare organisation RSPCA stated that "in UK folklore, black cats symbolise good luck". [6] Scottish lore holds that a black cat's arrival at a new home signifies prosperity, while Welsh lore states that a black cat brings good health:
Cath ddu, mi glywais dd'wedyd, | A black cat, I've heard it said, |
—A Welsh folklore rhyme, 1896 [7] |
The Gaels had traditions of feral and sometimes malevolent black cats. In Scottish mythology, a fairy known as the Cat sìth takes the form of a black cat with a white spot on its chest.
Black cats are often a symbol of Halloween or witchcraft.
In the present day many Westerners, including Christian clergy, have black cats as pets, and very few people attach superstitions to them anymore. [8] [9]
In contrast, the supernatural powers ascribed to black cats were sometimes viewed positively; for example, sailors considering a "ship's cat" would want a black one because it would bring good luck. [10] Sometimes, fishermen's wives would keep black cats at home too, in the hope that they would be able to use their influence to protect their husbands at sea.
In the folklore of Chiloé of southern Chile, black cats are an important element that is needed when hunting for the treasure of the carbunclo. [11] [12]
In Japan, black cats are good luck and are connected with the god Maneki-neko. Scottish culture associates black cats with prosperity and the goddess Brigid. In Latvia, black cats on farms mean prosperity and a good harvest. In Italy black cats mean upcoming good luck. In Germany, a black cat walking left to right is good luck. [13]
In the early days of television in the United States, many stations located on VHF channel 13 used a black cat as a mascot in order to make sport of being located on an "unlucky" channel number.
Since the 1880s, the color black has been associated with anarchism. The black cat, in an alert, fighting stance was later adopted as an anarchist symbol.
More specifically, the black cat—sometimes called the "sab cat" or "sabo-tabby" [14] —is associated with anarcho-syndicalism, a branch of anarchism that focuses on labor organizing, including the use of wildcat strikes and direct action tactics.
According to Ralph Chaplin, who is generally credited with creating the International Workers of the World's black cat symbol, "My 'Sab Cat' was supposed to symbolize the 'slow down' as a means of 'striking on the job'," although others in the IWW used the symbol much more broadly. [15] In testimony before the court in a 1918 trial of Industrial Workers of the World leaders, Chaplin stated that the black cat "was commonly used by the boys as representing the idea of sabotage. The idea being to frighten the employer by the mention of the name sabotage, or by putting a black cat somewhere around. You know if you saw a black cat go across your path you would think, if you were superstitious, You are going to have a little bad luck. The idea of sabotage is to use a little black cat on the boss." [16]
When the Space Shuttle program naming system for missions was reworked to avoid a Space Transportation System (STS)-13, some sourced this to superstition and Apollo 13. [18] The crew for what would have been STS-13 (which turned out to be STS-41C) made a humorous mission patch that included a black cat and a number 13. [18] The mission was successful and even landed on Friday the 13th. [18]
The UK Government has adopted several cats from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home as mousers. Gladstone is known as the Chief Mouser of HM Treasury. [19] India, also known as Willie, was a presidential cat owned by George W. Bush and Laura Bush who lived with them at the White House. [20]
Trim sailed with Matthew Flinders as he mapped the coastline of Australia between 1801 and 1803. Trim now accompanies him on several statues in Australia and England. [21] Hodge (fl. c. 1769) was a cat belonging to Samuel Johnson. Most of what is known about Hodge comes from James Boswell's biography and a statue of Hodge stands outside Dr Johnson's House. [22]
Oscar the "bionic" cat had his back legs sliced off by a combine harvester whilst sleeping in a field in Jersey. He was flown to the UK and received prosthetic limbs in an innovative operation in 2010. [23]
There is a common myth that black cats are the least likely to be adopted from animal shelters. However, this is untrue, and the ASPCA has said that black cats are adopted at a higher rate than cats with any other coat color. [24]
Some shelters suspend or limit adoptions of black cats around Halloween [25] for fear they will be tortured, or used as "living decorations" for the holiday and then abandoned. [26] [27] [28] Despite this, no one has ever documented in the history of humane work any relationship between adopting black cats and cats being killed or injured. When such killings are reported, forensic evidence has pointed to natural predators, such as coyotes, eagles, or raptors as the likely cause. [27] Limiting or suspending adoptions around Halloween also places more cats of all colors at risk of dying in shelters due to overcrowding. [29]
October 27 has been designated 'Black Cat Day' by Cats Protection in the United Kingdom, [30] to celebrate the virtues of black cats and to encourage people to adopt an unwanted black cat. Cats Protection's own figures suggest that black cats are more difficult for them to find a new home for than other colors. [30] In 2014, the RSPCA reported that 70% of the abandoned cats in its care were black, saying that though black cats symbolise good luck in UK folklore, one reason for the high percentage of black cats in its care was that black cats tend not to photograph as well. [31]
In the United States, August 17 is "Black Cat Appreciation Day". Wayne H. Morris created the day in honor of his late sister, June, who had a black cat, Sinbad. The day was chosen in memorial of June's passing. [32] [33] [24]
In 2014 Toronto, Canada's largest city, held an event on Black Friday during which people could adopt a black cat without paying the usual $75 adoption fee, in order to encourage the adoption of black cats. [34] This trend has now spread across the United States, with many shelters offering free adoption of black cats on Black Friday.
With the success of the 2018 African-themed superhero film, Black Panther , there was a fad of adopting black domestic cats as pets and naming them after various characters of the film, such as T'Challa and Shuri. [35] It has been observed that usually people were not going out of their way to follow this fad, but visited animal shelters to simply adopt a pet under normal circumstances and were inspired by the Black Panther to adopt a black cat when they see one. Regardless, as much as this was a welcome development for pets that are difficult to get adopted, to reduce the chance of such cats being abandoned when the fad fades, reputable animal shelter personnel took the usual precautions of having potential adopters fill out questionnaires to weed out potentially abusive guardians and have them read literature about the needs and responsibilities of such a pet to dissuade the less conscientious. [36]
A bicolor cat is a cat with white fur combined with fur of some other colour, for example, solid black, tabby, or colourpointed. There are various patterns of a bicolour cat. The coat patterns range from the Van-patterned, which has colour on the tail and crown of the head, to a solid colour with a throat locket or medallion. Bicolour coats are found in many cat breeds and are in domestic longhair and domestic shorthair cats.
The Maine Coon is a large domesticated cat breed. One of the oldest natural breeds in North America, the breed originated in the U.S. state of Maine, where it is the official state cat.
The Russian Blue cat, commonly referred to as just Russian Blue, is a cat breed with colors that vary from a light shimmering silver to a darker, slate grey. The short, dense coat, which stands out from the body, has been the breed's hallmark for more than a century.
The American Bobtail is an uncommon breed of domestic cat which was developed in the late 1960s. It is most notable for its stubby "bobbed" tail about one-third to one-half the length of a normal cat's tail. This is the result of a cat body type genetic mutation affecting the tail development, similar to that of a Manx cat. The breed is not related to other short-tailed breeds, such as the Cymric cat, or the Japanese Bobtail or Kurilian Bobtail, despite the similar name and physical type—the breeding programs are entirely unrelated, and the genetic mutation causing the bobbed tail are known to be different, as the mutation causing the American Bobtail's short tail is dominant; comparatively, the Japanese Bobtail, for example, has a tail mutation that is recessive.
The Havana Brown was the result of a planned breeding between Siamese and domestic black cats, by a group of cat fanciers in England, in the 1950s. Early breeders introduced a Siamese type Russian Blue into their breeding. However, using current genetic testing, it is believed that almost none remain in the gene pool.
Tonkinese is a domestic cat breed produced by crossbreeding between the Siamese and Burmese. Members of the breed are distinguished by a pointed coat pattern in a variety of colors. In addition to the modified coat colors of the "mink" pattern, which is a dilution of the point color, the breed is now being shown in the foundation-like Siamese and Burmese colors: pointed with white and solid overall (sepia).
Cat coat genetics determine the coloration, pattern, length, and texture of feline fur. The variations among cat coats are physical properties and should not be confused with cat breeds. A cat may display the coat of a certain breed without actually being that breed. For example, a Neva Masquerade could wear point coloration, the stereotypical coat of a Siamese.
The Ragdoll is a breed of cat with a distinct colorpoint coat and blue eyes. Its morphology is large and weighty, and it has a semi-long and silky soft coat. American breeder Ann Baker developed Ragdolls in the 1960s. They are best known for their docile, placid temperament and affectionate nature. The name Ragdoll is derived from the tendency of individuals from the original breeding stock to go limp and relaxed when picked up. The breed is particularly popular in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
The American Shorthair (ASH) is a breed of domestic cat believed to be descended from European cats brought to North America by early settlers to protect valuable cargo from mice and rats. According to the Cat Fanciers' Association, it was the eighth most popular pedigreed cat in the world for 2020.
The Bombay cat is a short-haired breed of domestic cat. Bombays are glossy solid black cats with a muscular build, and have characteristic large bright copper-golden eyes. The breed is named after the Indian city of Bombay (Mumbai), referring to the habitat of the Indian black leopard.
The Oriental Shorthair is a breed of domestic cat that is developed from and closely related to the Siamese cat. It maintains the modern Siamese head and body type but appears in a wide range of coat colors and patterns. Like the Siamese, Orientals have almond-shaped eyes, a triangular head shape, large ears, and an elongated, slender, and muscular body. Their personalities are also very similar. Orientals are social, intelligent, and many are rather vocal. They often remain playful into adulthood, with many enjoying playing fetch. Despite their slender appearance, they are athletic and can leap into high places. They prefer to live in pairs or groups and also seek human interaction. Unlike the breed's blue-eyed forebear, Orientals are usually green-eyed. The Oriental Longhair differs only with respect to coat length.
The Singapura, or Kucinta in Singapore, is the smallest breed of cat, noted for its large eyes and ears, ticked coat, and blunt tail. Reportedly established from three "drain cats" imported from Singapore in the 1970s, it was later revealed that the cats were originally sent to Singapore from the United States before being exported back to the US. Investigations by the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) concluded that no wrongdoing had occurred and the Singapura kept its status as a natural breed.
The Snowshoe is a rare breed of domestic cat originating in the United States of America in the 1960s. The Snowshoe is a short-haired bicolour colourpoint breed. Snowshoes were first produced when a Siamese breeder's cat gave birth to three kittens with white feet. The breeder, Dorothy Hinds-Daugherty, then began a breeding program to produce what were originally called "Silver Laces", crossing the strangely marked Siamese cats with bicolour American Shorthair cats and other breeds. Despite having existed for 45 years, Snowshoes are rare due to the difficulty of reproducing the correct coat markings.
A tabby cat, or simply tabby, is any domestic cat with a distinctive M-shaped marking on its forehead, stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, around its legs and tail, and characteristic striped, dotted, lined, flecked, banded, or swirled patterns on the body: neck, shoulders, sides, flanks, chest, and abdomen. The four known distinct patterns, each having a sound genetic explanation, are the mackerel, classic or blotched, ticked, and spotted tabby patterns.
A calico cat is a domestic cat of any breed with a tri-color coat. The calico cat is most commonly thought of as being 25% to 75% white with large orange and black patches; however, they may have other colors in their patterns. Calicoes are almost exclusively female except under rare genetic conditions.
The Asian or Asian group, is a cat breed similar to the European Burmese but in a range of different coat colours and patterns. Long-haired Asians of all varieties are called Tiffanies. Asians are grouped in section 5 (Burmese) by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF).
Black dog syndrome or big black dog syndrome is a phenomenon in which black dogs are passed over for adoption in favor of lighter-colored animals. Black cats are similarly reported to be subject to the same phenomenon.
Tortoiseshell is a cat coat coloring named for its similarity to tortoiseshell pattern. Like tortoiseshell-and-white or calico cats, tortoiseshell cats are almost exclusively female. Male tortoiseshells are rare and are usually sterile.
The Persian cat, also known as the Persian Longhair, is a long-haired breed of cat characterised by a round face and short muzzle. The first documented ancestors of Persian cats might have been imported into Italy from Khorasan as early as around 1620, however, this has not been proven. Instead, there is stronger evidence for a longhaired cat breed being exported from Iran from the 19th century onwards. Persian cats have been widely recognised by the North-West European cat fancy since the 19th century, and after World War II by breeders from North America, Australia and New Zealand. Some cat fancier organisations' breed standards subsume the Himalayan and Exotic Shorthair as variants of this breed, while others generally treat them as separate breeds.
The Highlander is a new breed of cat. The unique appearance of the Highlander comes from the deliberate cross between the Desert Lynx and the Jungle Curl breeds, also recently developed.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)A symbol for "sabotage" (i.e. inefficiency at the point of production by disgruntled workers), usually represented by a black cat with bared teeth. Also called "sab kitty", "sabo-tabby", or "the cat".
There is a common myth that black cats are the least likely to get adopted in animal shelters across the U.S. The data, however, does not bear this out. Black cats come into animal shelters more than any other color and black cats are adopted more than any other color cat!
Animal Services will be hosting a "cat adoption blitz" in honour of Black Friday. The $75 adoption fee will be waived from four different animal shelters across the city, as well as at a number of partner locations. The only cost to adopt a black cat will be a $15 license fee.