Holly here decided to give me a yawn instead of a scary Halloween cat pose; I didn’t get any ‘scary’ kitties on this day of rescue photographs at all, in fact. Lots of shy ones instead.

So the cat and Halloween… There are many associations of cats and bats and rats (my son loves that these rhyme) when it comes to Halloween, and black cats have particularly had a bad rap when it comes to legend and folklore. Our largely-nocturnal furry friends have/are said to be familiars of witches, and cats belonging to condemned witches during the time of the witch trials, were tortured and killed along with their pet guardians. There is zero correlation between witches and cat sacrifice, so put that idea out of your head; for starters, no true Pagan witch would ever harm a cat. Black cats though, have notoriously been vulnerable around Halloween, thanks to superstition and reports of ritual use; many shelters will not adopt out black cats around this holiday for fear of them being used for ritual sacrificial purposes. I’m a proponent of keeping cats inside (in the city, particularly) where they’re safe from cars, other animals and disease, but I’d say tonight is THE night to do so, rituals or no rituals. And keep them away from the chocolate and sweets!! (more for you that way)

I’d like to share my Flickr set of trick-or-treating for last year: Halloween 2012! My favorite holiday for taking photos. Last year, we were still all about superheroes; this year I have a werewolf on my hands… Sadly I haven’t had the chance to dress up for Halloween this year…quite sad about that (last year I was a zombie cheerleader when I took photos of live music at the EMP).

Well, everyone have a fabulous, safe and candy-filled Halloween.

When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
‘tis near Halloween.”
~ Author Unknown

xo ~ K