Black cats get a bad rap, particularly in Italy where they are popularly associated with evil. Now in an effort to disassociate these maligned felines from superstition and stop an estimated 60,000 annual cat killings, Italy is to hold its first national Black Cat Day.
Black cats symbolize different things in different cultures and countries, but in Italy the black cat is all bad, all the time. Traffic is wont to stop suddenly while motorists wait for a black cat to finish crossing the road, and Italian men have been known to make the sign of the cross with one hand and cover their private parts with the other to ward off the supposed evil of a passing cat.
As part of a feline image makeover, an Italian animal protection group has organized a celebration to be held Saturday in large Italian cities including Milan and Rome.
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