Tenth Life for Black Cats Trivia Quiz

Answer: Egypt

Ancient Egyptians revered cats as spiritual guardians, particularly the feline Bastet for home and fertility, and the feline Sekhmet for warfare and healing. Historical discoveries that support this knowledge include statues, inscriptions and mummified cats in places along the Nile.

Answer: kept them as good luck

Dating back to very early shipping, on vessels from countries that included several in Europe, Japan, Asia, Polynesia, Nordic lands and the Americas, sailors who set out to sea to fish or explore enjoyed keeping cats with them because the cats brought good luck, kept mice under control, could indicate a change in weather, and were often companions.

Interesting fact:
Black cats were are sometimes called "naval cats". One notable cat named "Blackie" was kept on a WWII vessel, the HMS Prince of Wales, as a symbol of luck.

Answer: Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I declared a statute against those said to use "witchcraft or enchantments", people identified by their lifestyles and even the black cats they kept.
One estimation of the number of people killed as witches from Elizabeth's time to the 18th century, in England alone, is at least 500 people. 90% of them were women. This is only the count of those killed in England, not other lands where "witch" persecutions were also taking place.

Answer: their familars

Domestic cats, and black cats in particular, were thought by some to be overly mysterious, even supernatural. In old Celtic tales, for example, the cat called Sith/Sidh was said to have the ability to steal souls.

Also, as numerous witch trials took place in both Europe and the US, suspects themselves sometimes named their black cats as tools they used to harm others.

Answer: women without family were rare

Older women who lived too privately alone and were not seen as properly productive in the era's approved ways, such as raising children and busy with standard family duties, and/or in groups that made material crafts, like sewing in a quilting group, or gardening and cleaning public places with other women, made them easy fodder for witchcraft rumors.
However, as both history and literature show, sometimes other reasons caused people to testify against others, reasons that included fear, jealousy, revenge, and self-preservation.

Answer: yes, but not many

Yes, some men in those areas and times were also accused of witchcraft, though so rarely it's rather surprising. One story repeated to this day is about a man in the UK who said he used his black dog to carry out curses and spells, and it was the dog that was ultimately hung for witchcraft, not the man.

Answer: yes, far too often

History says thousands of cats were killed during the centuries of witch-hunts, particularly the 1500s and 1600s. Black cats and other felines were hunted so obsessively that there was a continuing rise in the numbers of mice and rats, which had begun when new trade routes opened.

The lack of cats as rodent predators leads some current scholars to believe cat-extermination slowed the cessation of 14th century Black Plague in Europe.

Answer: only one true black cat, called Bombay

Actually, black is the most common color of domestic cats because the black coat is carried by a dominant gene.
However, only a cat hybrid developed in the 1950s, called a Bombay cat, is considered a true black cat. Bombay cats are often called "parlor panthers" and look like sleek and interesting pets.

Answer: yes, a black cat can hunt more easily

Black cats not only hunt more easily, but they are also more resistant to disease than cats with lighter coats, and are less suitable as prey to larger nocturnal predators like owls, simply because they're harder to see.

Answer: continued superstition and fear

Black cats are still somehow seen, in some cultures, as causing bad luck. It's still said, for example, that if a black cat crosses your path, you'll have bad luck. Even thoughts of evil witches are still linked in some minds to black cats. These beliefs are so old they are sometimes only in a person's subconscious.

Perhaps in mid-August sometime, for US National Black Cat Appreciation Day, more folks will adopt a new black cat or kitten and change the trend.