Cats and Luck

Cats - especially black ones - have long been associated with luck, both good and bad. A great deal of the world's folklore and superstition is about cats one way or another. This is possibly because of the cat's association with witches and psychic powers along with their unusual ability to "fall on their feet". Lucky cat charms and figurines such as the Maneki Neko "lucky cat" remain popular with buyers today.

Unfortunately this plethora of superstitions causes its own problems - a lot of things are either lucky or unlucky depending on who you listen to! Here are a few pieces of cat folklore relating to luck and the interpretations which are most familiar to me.

Ships
Cats on ships were considered to be lucky, unless they fell overboard in which case trouble resulted.

Dreams
There are so many tales associated with dreaming about cats... Most sources seem to consider such dreams lucky, however a few say the opposite. There are also different beliefs connected with the type of cat in the dream, for example dreaming of a tortoiseshell cat is sometimes said to bring luck in love. However to dream of cats fighting or scratching you is seen as unlucky.

Killing
Killing a cat is a definite no-no in many cultures an results in much bad luck - in ancient Egypt it was a capital offence. This is part of a wider band of supersition that seems to suggest that anything bad you do to a cat will rebound on to you as if they have some kind of powerful psychic shield.

Crossing Your Path
Simply seeing a black cat unexpectedly can be either lucky or unlucky. However if an unknown black cat crosses your path then this is usually considered unlucky.

Graves
To some Christians, a cat sitting on a grave was bad luck for the deceased - it represented the Devil's power over their soul. Two cats fighting on the grave represented the Devil and God fighting for possession of the soul.

Tails
Stepping on the tail of a cat is said to bring bad luck. Considering the reaction of the cat this probably isn't at all unlikely!

Houses
To have an unknown cat enter your house could be considered good or bad luck. Some sources say the strange cat is always lucky, others make an exception for the poor old black cat which is once again singled out as unlucky. As is so often the case some say that the exact opposite is true - cats leaving or refusing to enter a house means bad luck there.