Most people believe that black cats signal bad luck if you happen to come across them. This superstition is a big reason that a majority of black cats in animal shelters don't get adopted as frequently as other types.

In the Middle Ages, black cats became associated with black magic and the devil. Pope Gregory XI claimed that Satan could take the form of a black cat when walking the earth. The result was panic and slaughter of thousands of black cats over the following century. During the times of American colonization, black felines became associated with evil and witchcraft. This belief is also perpetrated in the media such as Sabrina the Teenage Witch owning a black cat named Salem. The association with witchcraft is also how the myth that cats have nine lives began. It was rumored that a witch had the ability to shape-shift into a cat nine times.