Cats and black cats, in particular, have a special place in history. Sometimes revered as Gods, and at other times feared as a bad omen—black cats worldwide are now being left at shelters for disturbingly superficial reasons.
Although the days of black cats being feared are (mostly) behind us— sources report there is now a new excuse for people to opt out of bringing a black cat home.
First, let’s have a history lesson on our wonderful, feline friends!
Domesticated cats have been around for a long time—so long that historians still can’t quite pinpoint when they became our domesticated friends. The earliest evidence of cat domestication, however, stems all the way from 7500 BCE. Male human remains were found in a carefully placed ceremonial gravesite— with (what we assume) is the human’s pet cat buried in its own grave beside him.
In Ancient Egypt, cats were very sacred animals. They were largely considered to be symbols of grace and poise. Some cats even received the highest praise upon death, which for Egyptians, meant mummification and being buried in sacred tombs. Harming cats in Ancient Egypt would earn you severe punishment. And, just a couple hundred years later, there was an entire religion revolving around the worship of these animals.
A couple thousand years after that, in 1620, the Pilgrims landed on the East Coast of North America, and the Plymouth Colony was founded. Witchcraft was heavily feared— and because black cats, which were considered messengers of evil, black cats soon became associated with “evil”, as well. Eventually, when the Salem witch trials began, various animals were accused of witchcraft and sentenced to execution. Not just cats either— a couple dogs were also accused of being witches and tried for “their crimes”.
Although some of this folklore remains in various cultures around the world, the fear and reverence of cats have mostly subsided.
In many parts of Europe, black cats are still considered unlucky. And if one crosses your path, some people say it’s a bad omen, and the little kitty will bring you misfortune and death. In the UK, however, these tiny panthers are symbols of fortune and luck!
Most recently, shelters have stated that black cats are being shunned for a whole different reason. Apparently, they don’t photograph well or “look nice” in selfies.
Truly ridiculous, isn’ it?
In the current culture of social media, where individuals chronicle and photograph every aspect of their daily life, people want their pets to look good for photos. And, according to general consensus, black cats… apparently don’t.
On average, black cats take about 10 days longer to re-home compared to their colored counterparts. Shelters report prospective cat owners calling ahead to check for available cats… but they won’t even bother to take a look if the shelters only have black kitties available.
“It’s worse now because black cats don’t show up in selfies. Now everybody wants to take selfies and put them on Facebook. It’s a very narcissistic use of social media,” said Christina Bayka, who runs an animal shelter in Bristol
In today’s world, people are concerned about how their lives appear online, rather than how awesome their cat is in real life. Shelters often have such a hard time adopting out black cats, that they will sometimes only have dark-furred cats available.
“It happens all the time, I will go through all the questions and say, ‘Are you flexible about color?’ Then they will say, ‘Yes, as long as it’s not black,” Christina Bayka told The Telegraph.
Darker cats, although they often have very bright, light eyes, just aren’t deemed “Instagrammable”. It’s a sad truth, but some shelters offer extra services, such as free neutering or spaying, or even discounting their black cats in hopes they will find forever homes.
Statistics continue to show that our black fur friends have the lowest adoption rate and the highest euthanasia rate, in large part to our culture of photographing and sharing everything we do online.
So, if you or someone you know will be looking for a new fur baby, please consider the fact that black kitties are often left behind and are the least likely to get adopted.
Do your part and spread the message! It’s important to help find these babies homes and to clear the shelters out of the black cats who have been living there lonely— sometimes even for years.
As cat lovers, it doesn’t take a scientist to tell us, these babies deserve so much better.
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