Do Black People Dislike Cats?

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Black man and cat
Black man and cat. Image: PoC.

This is a delicate subject so I’ll tread gently! However, it is an interesting one. I feel inclined to write about it and seek some feedback in comments, particularly from our American visitors. In my internet searches on Flickr, a major photo sharing website where there are tens of millions of photographs, I have failed to find or stumble upon a photo of a black woman with her cat. That might be pure chance and not significant but it might be an indication of something – not sure what!

Some people say that black people hate cats. That must be wrong. Obviously there will be a wide range of preferences from black people towards cats. Some will strongly dislike cats and some will love cats. It’ll be the same for white people.

The question is whether there is a higher percentage of black people who dislike cats in comparison to white people and if so why?

I sense from reading the answers on a Yahoo Answers website page, that there is a higher percentage of black people who dislike the domestic cat. If I am correct, it begs the question, why?

One thing comes to mind: superstition. There is a good bit of history, folklore and legend surrounding the domestic cat. There was a time in the Middle Ages hundreds of years ago when the cat was persecuted in Europe. There was a lot of superstition at that time. I am thinking of witchcraft, the black cat and witches’ familiars etc.

Black cat enters debating chamber of Kenyan Parliament. See what happens.
Black cat enters debating chamber of Kenyan Parliament causing consternation.

Superstition can foster an unjustified fear of the cat. This will naturally lead to dislike or even hatred. Black people may have a tendency to have more superstitions about the cat than white people. I have no firm information to support that. It is just a gut feel and a guess. Certainly in Africa domestic cats are seen by some as bearer of evil especially if something strange has happened such as the cat has got their head stuck in a jar. have a page on black cat entering the debating chamber of Kenya’s Parliament and one MP asks for an immediate evacuation.

Of course, if I saw all the visitors to PoC I would be able to see the percentage of white to black people. People who visit the site will normally like cats. Alexa an internet company that provides information about website does not and cannot provide a visitor profile with respect to their skin color.

I sense, however, that most visitors to PoC are white people and I would love it if there were more black people. That said I could be mistaken in my assessment.

It may be that black people are less likely to visit websites about animals. There are a whole range of influences that affect website visitations. I read that black folk in the American south prefer dogs for instance.

What can I conclude? Black people may have a greater tendency than white people to be slightly fearful of the cat due to superstition or incorrect information about the cat, which possibly leads to a lower percentage keeping cats as companions. That is a guess and not a criticism. We all have our views and I respect the views of others even when they are completely opposite to mine.

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Do Black People Dislike Cats?

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Mar 24, 2012Black people and cats NEW
by: Ruth (Monty’s Mom)

I would say, from my experience, the percentages of black people who like cats or hate cats is about the same as for any other group of people. I worked at a school in the inner city and the black children there enjoyed hearing about Monty and telling me about their pets as much as any other children I’ve worked with. The stories about their cats were often very sad. Many of their cats were hit by cars. Perhaps cats in crowded urban areas shouldn’t go out– and I’m usually against keeping indoor only cats. One of the teachers, also black, loved cats but was so highly allergic to them that if I had any cat fur on me my presence next to her aggravated her allergy. But she loved to hear about my kitty.

I also work sometimes at an outpatient physical therapy clinic in a location that serves people from many different ethnic groups. I hear just as many stories about patients’ cats from black patients as from any other group. I would say elderly white women are the most likely to say they hate cats or to say that cats belong out in the barn to catch the mice, but they would have no desire to have a cat in the house with them. It might have less to do with race as with where you live. Cats are a good fit for small apartments in the city. The elderly white women mostly grew up on farms and had big dogs as pets while the cats just lived in the barn.

Mar 24, 2012Cats can see humans skin colors ! NEW
by: Anonymous

As cat lover/rescuer/helper for over 50 + yrs, i have learned that some ethnic groups dislike cats simply due to superstition, especially those of African descent. But there’s always the exception,
a black couple with their young daughter visited white friends that are cat lovers, young daughter fell in love with their siamese cat & simply told her parents what type of cat she wanted, her wishes were granted & all were happy including new cat.
A funny story to share along same line, a couple was preparing for long vacation, just one problem
“who would sit with the cat”, arrangements were made & cat was taken to a mutual friends home, first few days cat hid under bed & hiss @ everyone that came close to her, husband is worried about kitty not eating/drinking & hiding under bed.
On fifth day (5) he decides to wear a pair of thick black leather gloves, the instant kitty saw those black hands under bed she begin to purr. Her owners are black & sitting couple is white. Cats are very smart/intuitive as their surroundings.
keenpetite
southeast Arizona

Mar 23, 2012black cats NEW
by: stephan

Most people i know of African heritage dislike cats particular black ones! My wife is from Africa and totally dislikes likes them!however other cats such as lions and tigers she simple adores!There is simple in my belief a link to the colour black, particularly in domesticated cats. I could be wrong however generally speaking this is what i have come across.It would be interesting to hear from others!

 

42 thoughts on “Do Black People Dislike Cats?”

  2. Well, it is cultural,and learned behavior. But as one can see, some commenters DO love cats. And the cultural bias doesn’t interfere with that.

  3. Actually, it’s just an cultural holdover from Africa,though it’s been for about 400 years now. It’s not genetic.

  6. John Bayless, I’m with you !! I’ve witnessed what you are describing here. Especially the beating of children part,and vowed to avoid similar situations at all costs . I’m a first generation American ( and last- I am leaving ASAP) because we had no idea that the history,much less the present,was such a disillusioning experience. We didn’t sign up for it, that’s for sure ! But this was the early fifties, VOA and RFE hid all this, because they wanted to create a brain drain from the USSR,and it worked, brilliantly. Anyway, be it the US, the Caribbean,or Africa,the beliefs and attitudes are the same,it being the diaspora and all.

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