Black Cat Appreciation Day - Lets Celebrate and Learn About Black Cats

Looking for a special way to celebrate Black Cat Appreciation Day? This day, dedicated to these cuddly kittens, is one worth celebrating.

Throughout the ages, black cats have garnered a negative reputation. However, they are very special and deserve to be appreciated.

Today is the perfect day to show them a little extra love. It is Black Cat Appreciation Day, after all!

Keep reading to honor these fantastic felines by learning more facts, folklore and history of black cats.

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What is Black Cat Appreciation Day?

Black Cat Appreciation Day is a day that falls annually on August 17th. It’s a day dedicated to celebrating and appreciating black cats!

Throughout history, there have been many mixed perspectives on black cats. On one side of the coin, they have been worshipped and revered.

However, they have also been burned at the stake with witches, and were ordered to be murdered by more than one Pope!

Thankfully, many of the negative beliefs about black cats have been dispelled throughout the years. These sweet cats deserve all the loving in the world. This special day was created to honor them!

Black Cat Appreciation Day was created by Wayne H. Morris to honor his sister June and her beloved cat Sinbad.

Why should you adopt a black cat?

Did you know that black cats are the less likely to be adopted at a shelter, and more likely to be euthanized? There are several factors that contribute to this sad fact.

Throughout history, black cats have been thought of by some, as bad luck. This myth unfortunately subliminally contributes to adopters shying away from black cats.

Black cats can be a little more tricky to photograph. Since a lot of pet adoption starts online, having a photo that doesn’t showcase their beauty sets them back from the start.

Additionally, more black cats are turned in to shelters than cats of other colors. Since there are more black cats are in shelters, more of them need to be adopted!

Fun facts about Black Cat Appreciation Day

Brush up on your knowledge of Black Cat Appreciation Day with these fun facts.

There are two different days of the year that celebrate black cats: today, Black Cat Appreciation Day and October 27, National Black Cat Day.
Many shelters lower or waive adoption fees for black cats on Black Cat Appreciation Day and also on Black Friday.
In Irish and Scottish mythology there’s an ominous creature called cat sìth, which is a giant black cat with a white patch on its chest.
Black cats are less likely to be adopted and more likely to be euthanized in shelters.
There are 22 different breeds of black cats.
Sailors considered black cats to be good ship’s cats because they were thought to bring good luck.
Pope Gregory IX believed cats (particularly black cats) were satanic and ordered them to be killed.
Some say that this cat extermination contributed to the bubonic plague. Since there were fewer cats to kill rodents, they were able to spread disease more easily.
Another Pope, Pope Innocent VIII declared that when a witch was burned, if she had a cat, that cat was to be burned with her.
Historically black cats have been associated with witchcraft.
Black cats are associated with Halloween because of the old belief that they were closely linked to witches.

How to observe Black Cat Appreciation Day

There are lots of obvious ways to celebrate Black Cat Appreciation Day. Here are a few other creative ideas to help honor this day.

Volunteer at a local animal shelter, and make sure to give the black cats that are there some extra love.
If you have your own black cat, today is a great day to give them an extra treat, or a new special toy.
If you’re looking to adopt a pet, choose a black cat from a shelter. They are the most at-risk for euthanasia. Many shelters run adoption specials for black cats on Black Cat Appreciation Day.
Watch Sabrina The Teenage Witch to celebrate her black cat named Salem!
Plan ahead with some ideas for cat pumpkins for Carve a Pumpkin Day in October.
Do the word search puzzle for August to see if you can find Black Cat Appreciation Day in it.
Make sure to watch Hocus Pocus this Halloween and celebrate the black cat in that movie named Thackery Binx.
Use the hashtag #BlackCatAppreciationDay to spread the word about the day on social media. Here is a tweet to get you started:

August 17 is Black Cat Appreciation Day! Celebrate these fantastic felines by heading over to Always The Holidays and learning more about their special day! 🖤 😻 Share on X

What is a national day?

National days of the year are a fun way to celebrate odd and unusual foods, animals and items that you come into contact with. Be sure to check out my national day’s guide for more fun days to celebrate.

There are close to 2000 national days in the year and over 150 of them are celebrated in August. To see them all, have a look at this post to discover more about the national days in August.

If food is your thing, you’ll be delighted to know that each day of the month has a food or drink associated with it. There are even some foods that have their own national monthly observance! You’ll find all the August food holidays here.

Be sure to also check out these other national days about animals and pets:

National Pet Day – Find out more about how to celebrate all of our pets.
National Ferret Day – This unusual pet is more popular than you might think.
National Love Your Pet Day – Learn 30+ facts about pets to celebrate this day!
National Rescue Dog Day – Check out this day dedicated to rescue dogs.
National Golden Retriever Day – Learn facts about golden retrievers to celebrate this day.

Pin this post on Black Cat Appreciation Day for later

Would you like a reminder of this post for Black Cat Appreciation Day? Just pin this image to one of your trivia boards on Pinterest so that you can easily find it later.

Watch our YouTube video to learn about more national days in August.

About the author

Since graduating from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Jess has been living and working in Los Angeles, CA. She is a freelance writer, specializing in content related to fashion, food and drink and film industry topics. Find out more about Jess here.