Cat superstitions from the not so distant past were somewhat gruesome and even weird. In this newspaper article printed in 1908, there are a number of rather gross superstitions associated with cats and particularly black cats.
It needs to be remembered that killing a cat was extremely bad luck. Finding a deceased cat, however, was, in a sense, free game.
This article is being placed here for research purposes. No one here at StrangeAgo believes in harming any creature, big or small. However, we cannot whitewash the past, no matter how tempting it may be.
Cat Superstitions
Began in Egypt and Has Persisted Till Present Day
Of all the domesticated animal companions of man there attaches to the cat alone an air of mystery. This is doubtless due to the animal’s weird-looking eyes, its peculiar habits, stealthy movements, night prowling and its strange vocal accomplishments, ranging from soft musical “mewing” to the “wailing shriek” described by Poe, “half of horror and half of triumph; such as might have arisen only out of hell, conjointly from the throats of the damned in their agony, and of the demons that exult in the damnation.”
Upon this atmosphere of mystery which attaches to the cat and the widespread belief that the animal exercises a mysterious influence over the lives and destinies of human beings, the poet Poe founded his gruesome tale, “The Black Cat.”
These curious beliefs and superstitions attaching to the cat existed in very early times, says the Boston Herald. In ancient Egypt the cat was sacred to the Goddess Isis and was held in the highest reverence. Temples were erected in its honor and sacrifices and devotions offered up to it.
When the family cat of an Egyptian family died, the members of the household were required to shave off their eyebrows. In the city of Cairo there was within very recent years an institution for the care of destitute cats.
In Massachusetts it “brings good luck” to throw a dead cat over the left shoulder and turn around twice, says a sage of the Kansas City Star.
In Alabama the spirit of an old maid after death takes possession of some black cat. In the same state to cut off the end of a black cat’s tail and bury it under the doorstep is to keep sickness out of the family.
The belief that it is bad luck to kill a cat is general, and in Pennsylvania and Iowa is found the superstition that if a farmer kills a cat some of his stock will die.
The black cat also makes “good medicine.” Here are some specimens of “cat cure” lore:
The blood of a cat will cure a spavined horse.
Blood from the tip of the tail of a black cat without a single white hair will cure a sty.
Apply the freshly removed skin of a cat as a remedy for shingles.
The heart of a black cat, applied as soon as killed, will stop bleeding from a wound.
The skin of a black cat worn in one’s clothing will cure rheumatism.
Here are a few specimens of the omens which are associated with the feline:
If you dream of a cat it signifies that you have an enemy.
In Canada, Michigan and Eastern Kansas, a cat of three colors brings luck, and in the last named place is regarded as a protection against fires.
A “smutty”-nosed cat brings wealth to its owner.
Up in Maine it means poverty to own a white cat.
A spotted cat coming to your house is a lucky omen.
A double-pawed cat foretells good luck.
The possession of a black cat or a black and white one brings sickness to the family.
If a cat runs across your path you will be disappointed if you do not immediately turn back.
That you will break friendship with a person to whom you give a cat is believed in New England.
In Ohio, if a neighbor’s cat comes listening around you may know that the neighbors are gossiping about you.
In Massachusetts a cat putting its paw over its head means company. And when the cat licks its paws that also means company, and the company will come from the direction to which its tail points.
In Labrador it means visitors when the cat scratches the door post.
When the cat washes its face it is a sign of visitors in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
In Eastern Kansas it is a favorable omen when the cat sits before the fire and washes its face.
After washing its face visitors will come from the direction in which the cat looks.
If a cat washes its face in the presence of several persons the first it looks at will be the first to get married, and will be the first of those present to die.
If a cat washing its face before a fire pause in its ablutions and looks directly at any one, that one will receive a letter, is a Kansas belief, as also is the superstition that if the cat follows one who is leaving home it presages harm. Also, that it is unlucky to move into a house where the former occupants have left their cats or dogs.
In some localities it is bad luck not to move the cat when the family moves; in other localities it is an ill omen to move the cat.
The cat also runs a weather bureau:
A cat bawling it a sign of rain in Newfoundland.
A cat eating grass indicates rain in Maine, Michigan, and Massachusetts.
If a cat’s fur shines and looks glossy, next day will be pleasant.
In Alabama, a cat washing its face means rain. In New England this statement is limited to ablutions on the part of the cat before breakfast or in the parlor.
The direction from which the cat’s paw moves in washing indicates direction from which the storm will come.
In Central Maine it will storm soon if you see the cat looking out of a window.
In Kansas it means a change of weather when the cat plays and frisks about in the house. And in New York a storm is looked for when an old cat frisks through the house at night.
When a cat is sharpening its claws the way its tail points indicates the direction of the wind the next day, is a Maine superstition.
When the cat turns its back to the stove it means cold weather.
If the cat lies with the back of its head turned downward, it means a storm. When the cat holds its nose up in the air it signifies rain.
That putting a coal black cat under a bushel measure when it is raining will make the rain stop is a belief entertained in Maryland.
It is a general belief that a cat should never be left alone with a sleeping child, as the cat “may suck the child’s breath.”
In Ohio is found the belief that playing with a cat will make a child stupid.
The following was found within the shadow of the State University at Lawrence, Kansas: “Never take a cat near a dead person lest the cat take the soul of the dead.”
The cat and the dog are hereditary enemies because the cat once stole the right of the dog.
Grease a cat’s foot and it will stay at your house.
The belief is general that cats can’t smell when their whiskers are cut off.
In New England it is regarded as unsafe to have a cat in the room during a thunderstorm.
In Maine it is believed that in the tip of every cat’s tail are three hairs of the devil – which accounts for the cat’s disposition to prowl.
Source: The Lancaster news. (Lancaster, S.C.), 07 March 1908.
