Superstitions
Listed below are common and some uncommon superstitions concerning felines. Enjoy!!
In ancient Egypt, women wore an amulet of a cat so they would be fortunate in love and all things feminine. A woman who wanted children would were an amulet of a cat and kittens, the number of kittens indicating the number children she wished to have.
Wives were once made to drink milk that held a cat's eye stone to prevent them from conceiving children while the husband was away on a journey.
If a black cat crosses your path or enters your home, it will bring good luck.
(This superstition comes from ancient Egypt)
You will be extremely rich or lucky in love if you pull off a white hair from a black cat without getting scratched.
If a cat crosses your path and does no harm, you will be very lucky.
(This supersition comes from medieval times)
If a black cat crossed your path you will have good luck. The black cat is also considered to be an omen of money.
Whenever the cat of the house is black, the lasses of lovers will have no lack.
If a cat sneezes, luck is coming to the house.
Keep an old cat collared and chained in a shop, and prosperity will be yours. If the cat escaped, the prosperity was believed to go with it.
In parts of Yorkshire the wives of fisherman keep black cats at home to ensure theirs husbands safety at sea.
If you have a white cat, silver will always be in the house. If you have a dark colored cat, there will always be gold.
In southern England if a black cat crosses the path of the bride as she leaves church, it will be a fortunate marriage.
A tortoiseshell cat brings good fortune.
A cat with three colors will protect your house against fire.
A cat insures its owner of good luck.
People who dislike cats will be carried to the cemetary through rain.
If you treat a cat badly or neglect it, carry an umbrella to your wedding.
Cat who have three colors (red, white, and black) are able to predict the approach of storms.
In many cultures, a sneexing cat means rain.
A wildly running and playful cat is a sign of an approaching storm.
When a cat washes behind its ears it is pulling down rain.
If a ships cat starts running and playing, it means a gale or wind behind them and rain in their faces.
If a cat scratches a table leg, it means a change in the weather.
If a cat sits with its back to the fire, it means a storm is coming.
To decide whether to say yes or no to a marriage proposal, take three hairs from a cat's tail. Wrap them in white paper and put this under the doorstep overnight. In the morning carefully open the paper. If the hairs are in a Y-shape, it is yes; if in an N-shape, it is no.
Cats carry the souls of the dead to the afterworld.
To kill a black cat brings bad luck. Another version is you will get rheumatism if you kill a cat.
If a black cat crosses your path you will have bad luck (America)
If you see a strange cat, it means changes in your life, while the sight of a black cat means misfortune or illness.
Lightning bolts are sent by angels to rid cats of the evils spirits that possess them, so put cats outside during a storm.
If a cat meows on board a ship, it is a sign of a trublesome voyage.
The eyes of cats shine in the dark.
(The eyes of a cat won't shine unless there is light to reflect in them)
The eyes of a cat will wax and wane with the phases of the Moon.
Cats are extremely nervous.
(Not so; they just have superb reflexes and are very sensitive to loud noises.)
Blood from the tail of a black cat will cure many minor illnesses if rubbed on the affected body part.
If a cat sneezes three times, everyone in the house will catch colds.
To cure any illness in a family, wash the patient and throw the water over a cat. Then drive the cat outside; it will take the illness with it.
For a sty, stroke the eye with the tail of a black cat. Or, pluck a hair from the tip of a black cat's tail when the New Moon rises on a cloudless day and draw the hair across the swollen eyelid nine times.
A similar belief is if you stroke the tail of a black cat across a wart during the month of May only, the wart will go away.
In early times in the southern U.S.A., it was believed that gravy made from a stewed cat would cure consumption.
If the cats desert a house, there will always be sickness there.
No cat that has been purchased will catch mice.
Cats born in May will only catch snakes and worms.
Don't feed a cat well if you want it to catch mice.
When moving, butter the cat's paws to make them stay at the new house.
Boil the ear of a black cat in the milk of a black sow and wear it on your thumb to become invisible.
Wear a cat's (or tiger's) eye stone to become invisible.
Wearing a cat's eye stone will return the evil eye to the sender.
In the Ozarks and other parts of the southern U.S.A., if a cat washes itself while sitting in a doorway, a member of the clergy will soon arrive. If it only washes its left ear, a female visitor is on the way; if only the right ear, it will be a male visitor.
A cat ensures its owner of good luck. (China)
©1999
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