The black cat has ancient origins as it was the first colour mutation from the original tabby striped Egyptian domestic cats. The spread of the black cat into Europe has been linked to the traders the Phoenicians c.1200-146BC. The cat was a deity in ancient times and a positive symbol of female fertility, symbolized by the cat godess Bastet. As christianity spread, all other religions were paganised and their gods and godesses turned into devils and demons. Thus the cat was transformed from a respected creature into the hunted and mistrusted animal that suffered terribly for these new beliefs.
Many lonely and isolated women in Middle Age villages kept cats for company, and paid a heavy price for this association. The height of persecution for witchcraft was between 1580 and 1590, when torture, burning and drowning were commonplace punishments for both cat and owner. The Protestant county of Essex was the main hotbed of discontent, and was also the site where the cat first arrived in the country.
Even the physical design of the cat aroused suspicion of supernatural powers in these narrow minded times. The cats ability to land on their feet and their light-reflective eyes were cited as examples of strange powers.