Cats and Halloween, Debunk the Stigma

The stigma surrounding cats, especially black cats, has long been associated with evil, black magic, witchcraft and superstition. Believers in the metaphysical often use caution around a number of things that are said to bring bad luck, and a black cat crossing their path is one of them.

These negative associations go back centuries, all the way back to Greek mythology.
In Ovid's tale, Galinthias was one of the servants of the mother of Hercules, Alcmene, and her attempts to help got her into quite the predicament.
Alcmene was the wife of Amphitryon. Zeus disguised himself as Amphitryon in order to have relations with Alcmene and she became pregnant. Zeus's wife, Hera, became furious and tried to prevent the birth. Galinthias got involved by playing a trick on Hera which enabled Alcmene to successfully give birth to Hercules. Hera took her revenge on Galinthias by turning her into a cat and sending her to the underworld. She was to act as a priestess of Hecate, the goddess of death and the queen of witches. Because of the connection with Hecate, black cats were then thought to be an omen of death and associated with witchcraft.

The word for 'the fear of cats' is ailurophobia. This came from the name Ailuros, which was the Greek name for the ancient Egyptian goddess Bast. The Greeks saw Bast as a version of their lunar goddess Artemis. It was said that Artemis turned herself into a cat in order to escape the god of wind, Typhon,

During the Middle Ages, superstitions around black magic were abundant, and black cats were targeted. Pope Gregory XI had published the "Vox in Rama" document in 1233 to deal with the subject of devil worship. He claimed that black cats were the incarnation of Satan, therefore, throughout the next century black cats were slaughtered.
Interesting is that with the killing of cats, the rodent population escalated which helped spread the bubonic plague during the 14th century killing millions of people. Pope Gregory may have been long dead by then but superstitions stick and even to this day people associate cats with scorcery.
During the witch hunt era, 1450 to 1750, black cats were seen as being such evil companions to their "witches" that they were burned in baskets alongside their owners.

The trend of labeling black cats as evil came to the United States with the Pilgrims in the Plymouth colony. The Puritan Pilgrims distrusted anything associated with sorcery and actively persecuted black cats just for being the color black. It became a practice to burn black cats on Shrove Tuesday to protect the home from fire. 

As time passed and this practice died down, black cats had become part of all the legends behind witches. As the celebration of Halloween became more commercial, black cats became part of the usual Halloween decorations. The bristled fur, claws and green eyes just added to the desired spooky effect.

Animal shelters are very aware of the concern with people wanting to adopt cats around Halloween just to use them in satanic rituals or sadistic pranks. Back in the 1980's and 90's there were restrictions on adoptions in the weeks leading up to Halloween. Today those concerns are still present, however, due to the need for homes with the abundance of cats in shelters, those bans are no longer in place. Adopting black animals in October has even become a promotional tactic to increase awareness of the need for homes for these pets.

The kitty pictured above may look terrifying, but in reality she is just our Bella letting me know she is hungry!

Homemade & Healthy Flea Repelling Dog Treats

Flea season can be exasperating for both pet owners and their pets. We can apply flea and tick preventatives on our dogs, we can vacuum our homes, wash the pet bedding regularly, and yet every time we open our door to the great outdoors those little pests are lurking to hitch a ride back inside.

The diet can have an influence on just how attractive those fleas find our pets. By adding ingredients such as brewer's or nutritional yeast and garlic, we can help our pets to be a bit less appealing to biting, blood sucking fleas.

Bake*A*Bone is a wonderful kitchen gadget that will make the process of homemade treats so much less of a hassle. There is no rolling out the dough or cutting with cookie cutters, both of which can be fun, but realistically, in any given busy week, I for one just never got it done. But using a Bake*A*Bone grill is so much less messy and saves money by not having to heat up the oven.



Below are two sources to find this little grill online. It'll cost about $24.00 and makes for a wonderful Holiday Gift Idea for an animal lover.

Bake*A*Bone from Amazon

Bake*A*Bone from Coupaws
Coupaws is a site of great deals and every purchase provides six meals to pets in need.

Included with the grill is a little book full of delicious recipes made up of wholesome, healthy ingredients. No preservatives, no added coloring or flavoring, no chemicals period. Just good for your dog foods that are great supplements and add variety to their ordinary diet.

Here is a recipe not included in the book. It is a treat that acts as a natural flea repellent.

FLEA-BE-GONE DOG BISCUITS (from the 2015 edition of the Farmer's Almanac)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 cups flour of choice
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup brewer's or nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chicken broth

Directions:

Stir the vegetable oil and garlic powder together in a mixing bowl.
In another larger bowl, mix the remaining ingredients.
Slowly add the oil and garlic mixture to the dry ingredients followed by the chicken broth.
Mix thoroughly until you get a doughy consistency.

Follow the directions that come with the Bake*A*Bone to bake your treats. The grill makes four at a time and each batch will take about 10 minutes baking time. Being the dough is thick it is easier to just add a small blob to the bone indentation and not worry so much about how perfect each one looks. If you want perfectly shaped bone shapes, you can pinch off the excess once they are baked.



To make these without a grill:
Roll dough onto a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick.
Use a knife to cut dough into squares or use cookie cutters to make shapes.
Place cut dough onto a large, ungreased baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are brown.
Allow the treats to cool completely and then store in plastic bags or tight containers.

The biggest challenge is setting a limit on how many of these your dog gets in a day. My dogs love them to the point I could be offering them far too often than I normally would just because I know how healthy they are.

Another great perk with these treats is that there is no crumbly mess left behind as there so often is with the typical dog bones. If you want them crunchier, the book says to preheat your oven to 350 degrees, place the baked treats on a cookie sheets and put into the preheated oven. Then turn off the oven and just let the treats sit in the turned off oven for 4-6 hours to dry out.

These dog bones will probably get eaten up before you have to worry about spoilage, but they can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container for longer storage.

Mystery of Homeopathy...Coincidence..or Not

Our black cat, Taylor, is a prime example of an animal's fighting spirit and the will to live. He is pictured with his brother, Fender, who both came as a package deal.
It was only days before Halloween, five years ago, and we believe Taylor was clipped by a car. My husband just happened to return home probably soon after it happened because he discovered the cat flipping around in our driveway.
Fearing the worst what could he do but bring him inside so at least he wouldn't die alone out in the cold of the night. I've always been intrigued with the alternative therapy known as homeopathy. Its one of those things that if you hit it right with the correct remedy you are amazed, and wonder if it was just coincidence since it is so hard to really understand why this method of healing works.

It was obvious this cat was probably going to die of shock so I aimed to take care of the most acute problem first. Rescue Remedy is a combination of five Bach flower remedies: Impatience, Clematis, Rock Rose, Cherry Plum and Star of Bethlehem. These remedies are for traumatic stress and terror.
Taylor had classic signs of shock such as glazed eyes, pupils different in dilation, irregular breathing, and bodily shaking. I spent that entire night keeping him swaddled and warm. Four drops of Rescue Remedy was given every fifteen minutes for about two hours until he seemed to calm down and his breathing slowed to a more normal rate. (A bottle of Rescue Remedy should be kept on hand for many an emergency be it people or pets. Giving a dose every 15 minutes en route to either the vet or a doctor can make all the difference when there is fear, panic or possibility of shock.)

By morning he was still with us and much more alert. The main concern now was that his body just sank to the ground. When he tried to walk he dragged himself with the right side of his body. Front and back legs worked but only on that one side. We figured if his back was broken both back legs would have been useless. If he was hit in the head he most likely wouldn't have survived at all.
It was concluded he was probably thrown and suffered a concussion and nerve trauma. So we were advised to give our Taylor the gift of time and see how his body responds as the inflammation decreases. As we often do with our pets, once we know what we are dealing with we take care of our own by utilizing what we know from both conventional medicine and alternative methods.

Another wonderful homeopathic remedy is St. Johnswort or Hypericum. This treatment is recommended for nerve injuries and trauma. We gave him the potency we had which was 30x, four times a day and just watched for change. What we were looking for was the hope that once there was a decrease in inflammation there would be signs of improvement.
Sure enough, within two days he could hold up his head. He tried in earnest to get himself to the litter box where one of us would then hold him up to do his business.
What a relief when he started to show an interest in food. He didn't seem to be in any pain so we made him comfortable and waited.

Within a month he tried to stand on wobbly legs but couldn't hold his weight. Another month and he could walk but stumbled and fell easily. By six months he mastered the coordination to once again be able to jump. That show of perseverance was a great lesson for all of us.

Now a few years later the only residual signs of damage are a slight cock to his head and a watery eye. A bit clumsy he has made himself more endearing than ever.
A creature of habit, every evening he follows us to our bedroom and settles in.
Interesting that it is usually those with special needs who hold such special places in our lives.

Did someone intentionally hit him because he is a black cat and it was Halloween?
We will always wonder.