Black Cats, Bad Luck or What!

O.K. guys, this is Aggieone and you will think I am crazy.  (Maybe I am . . .but here goes)

Do any of you out there think that black cats are bad luck.  I have never been a lover of cats, neither has my husband but . . .when my husband's mother died, he inherited her cat.  We decided it would be best to leave the cat at his mom's house, go over spend time with it and feed each day.  Husband has learned to love the cat, He spends a lot of time with it and the cat loves us.  When it is really cold we have tried to bring the cat over to sleep in our house, but he is misreable.  He has a warm place to sleep at his house, so we gave in to the cat.  Through working with this cat, we have learned to love him and treat him like he is the king of his home.   (This little paragraph was to give you a little history as to how we came to love cats)

In October, a stray black cat came to our house (People around here know how good we take care of our animals and sometimes I think they just drop them off near here and they know we will not let them suffer in any way.)  Anyway, the cat was so thin, I told husband to share some of his cat's food with this poor baby.  We started feeding the cat and he came to visit often.  Around Halloween, I looked out and he was sitting on top of our deck railing, he looked just like the cat you see on Halloween cards.  It was really strange and a bit scary.  Anyway, one day my husband brings home a litter box and says, we need to provide him a warm place to stay.  I said NO, we do not need a cat.   Well, husband won this one.  I told him, cat would have to see vet for shots, check up, etc.  Cat disappears, reappears, gaining weight, disappears, etc.  Sandy Grace, our wonderful lab hated the cat, she growled at the cat and simply did not want the cat in her space, neither did I.  I liked my world with just my two babies and no litter boxes.  Husband took the cat to the vet, shots, check up, etc.   The cat is male, so we know we have to get it neutered, not yet, because he disappears for days and then shows back up starved to death.  Sandy Grace is continuously growling at the cat, cat does not like Sandy Grace and just sits and stares at her.  Here is the chain of events that we have gone through since that black cat has come to our house . . .

Cat comes to us in October . . .

Sandy Grace gets sick in December, we lost her on February 6

Husband will not let the cat outside one night because it is so cold, cat gets mad at husband, sits and stares at him with the meanest look - (told my husband, you're next-look at how that cat is looking at you)  husband bends over the next  day  to pick up something , and his back goes out, he is still  going to physical therapy two days a week, and back is not much better . . .Never any problems in the past with his back !!!!!!

Cat is laying in the den floor punching his blanket, having fun and all of a sudden, starts scratching on the arm of our sofa, I tell the cat no, he does not stop, again, I tell him no!!!! He stops, stares at me  to the point that I feel very uncomfortable. . . told my husband "I guess I'm  next".  Well guess what, I started to get out of the bathtub yesterday morning, one leg out on the floor and the other foot still in the tub went out from under me, bad fall-fortunately I did not hit my head, but I hit everything else.  Black and blue now and so sore I can hardly move.  Neck is just about out because of trying to brace my fall.  

I do not consider myself superstitous, but I do not walk under ladders, cross my windshield when a black cat runs in front of me, and I hate Friday the 13.  I know this is from growing up with the older generation,  and hearing them talk about old superstitions.  So many other small things have happened since this cat has come to visit.  Am I losing it, or what . . . Have any of you heard of black cats and actual bad luck they may bring.  Some of my friends think I have fallen out of my tree.  Maybe so, but it is really starting to bother me.  .  Aggieone

[Jaybay]

LOL!  NO - it is NOT the cat!  :-)

[April2]

There's no such thing as bad luck. However, there is such thing as self-fulfilled prophecy. Ever heard of it? Basically, if you think something bad's going to happen or you think something good's going to happen, it will because you were literally looking for it and made yourself suceptable to it. Does that make sense? In other words, if you believe something good will happen to you, then you'll start looking for it and therefore put yourself in the position for it to happen. Let's say, you believe that you will land your dream job soon, or dream house, whatever. Well, you will start to look for that job or house and make yourself available to it.
Or let's say you think bad things always happens to you (like you did with the cat). Now you will start to become aware of everything that happens to you. You will look for it. Your husband could have hurt his back last year and you all would never have thought anything of it and would have forgotten it. But the fact that it happened right after you took this cat in and already thought the cat was bad luck, now you're looking for bad things to happen. Does all this make sense?
Our thoughts can be powerful. That's why I mentioned the self-fulfilled prophecy. If we believe we're a loser and will never make something of ourselves, then we won't. As any millionare how they made it and they will tell you that they believed in themselves or their dream and therefore opened themselves up for these good things to come into their lives. Did it just fall into their laps? No, not usually. They worked hard for what they got, but they believed in themselves and so therefore never gave up and put themselves out there to persue their dreams.
There is nothing superstitious about any of this. Superstitions come out of fear of the unknown and that's how a lot of them started. The whole black cat thing started because they used to think that only witches owned black cats. Well, we know that's not true, right? All our creatures were created by a loving God and are equal and deserving of our love and care. My mom has a black burmese cat and called her Angie, short for "Angels Unaware" because of how she found her during a difficult time in her life. This is the sweetest, most loving cat.
This black cat that you found is probably just acting the way he is because he's used to being an outdoor cat and used to his independence.

I think the bigger issue here is you and your husband need to be on the same page. If one of you wants the cat and the other one does, that can cause strife between the two of you. I think you guys need to sit down and come to an agreement that would be satisfactory for both of you.
I hope this helps and eases your mind a bit! :) Peace.

[aggieone]

Hi Guys, Well this is exactly what I needed.  I have always been a very positive person with positive friends and family around me.    The cat came into our lives, and boom! things started happening, one after the other.  But April, you are right, putting your fears out there  will sometimes bring them to light.  I do love the cat, but the way he can look at you is wicked.  He has a name which is Baby-when he meows, he sounds like a baby, so we call him Baby.  Husband loves the cat and when he is not in by a certain time in the evening, he goes looking for him.  We have figured out that he is also visiting other places too.  

Things are sad  here now as we are still grieving over Sandy Grace and I am continously living with "what if", "should I have", and "what else" could we have done.  So my positives the last week have been few.  I have dreamed dreams, worked for them and made them happen.  April, I really needed your comments.  Jaybay, are you still laughing????  I am sure you are and that is O.K.  as laughter is the best medicine there is.  Well guys, I have to go, but thanks so much for your responses.  Get back to you later.  Aggieone