For centuries cats were a symbol of the sacred, in Asia cats of any color are considered a sign of good fortune, while Welsh and Scottish folklore hold that the arrival of a black cat at your door brings good health and prosperity, in England black cats were considered lucky because they were thought to be better hunters who could move undetected in the dark. So how did they become associated with witches and bad luck? It may have started with the Greek goddess, Hecate the goddess of magic who had a cat that became her familiar and helped with her spells. To make matters worse in 1233 Pope Gregory IX put out his first papal bull concerning Germans worshiping the devil in the form of black cats. Interesting side note, some people claim the lack of cats in Europe at that time aided in the spread of the bubonic plague as there weren't enough cats to kill the rats and mice.
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