To wrap up our Halloween-related cat myths, I have chosen a few more popular urban legends. If you ever come across someone fearful of cats you will have logic to back your loyalty to our feline friends.

Health Myths

Perhaps you have heard that if a woman conceives with child, she has to get rid of her cat and not be around any. The reasoning behind this has mostly to do with a parasite in cat feces but also to do with a common folklore myth that cats suck the breath out of babies.

Since small children are vulnerable and cannot defend themselves, when a cat sits on their chest or rubs on a child’s face it is easy to suck out every breath and the very soul itself, right? Wrong.

What really may happen is a heavy cat might suffocate a small child if puts too much weight and pressure on a child’s chest so the legs cannot expand. A responsible parent would be observant and would not let a cat larger than the child’s torso sit on their child for several minutes at a time, but sadly this has happened before and the cat was to blame.

A reversal of roles!

Also, if a cat was allowed to lie on or be so close to a child’s face that they cant breathe, then the child could suffocate. Asphyxiation, or death due to the lack of breathing is the culprit behind these sad, unfortunate deaths not the magical powers of evil breath sucking cats.

Speaking of cats causing death, another popular misconception is that if a cat lies in the bed of a sick or elderly person, they will kill the person and steal their soul. Since cats are obviously magical beings associated with witches, they must gather souls to get stronger!

Again, behind every myth there is truth and in this circumstance there is certainly biological evidence to this coincidence. Quite often when a person is in the process of dying they have a heat transfer in their body. Some patients have a fever and radiate heat or others have heat from their limbs transferred to their torso depending on the specific ailment. Cats will always congregate towards an area of heat such as a sunbeam, your computer or a warm body in bed.

Coming to comfort

Ailing cat owners are often visited by their kitties in bed just because the cat is concerned for their health and can detect a change in personality of their owner. However in most cases, the patient is bed-ridden and can always be found in the same place to cuddle. When the patient passes, it has more to do with the illness that made them sick in the first place and nothing to do with the cat’s presence – although it may be comforting to imagine our cat being the spiritual being to cross us from this life to what lies after.

White Cats are Lucky!

In a more positive light, there is a rumor that if you pet a white cat, it will bring good health and wellness. While black cats have the association of evil, white cats are believed to be angelic and the fur of a pure white cat is considered good luck.

However, its turns out any color cat can bring a boost to your health, not just white cats. It has been medically proven that petting a cat reduces stress and lowers blood pressure. The rhythmic purring sound from a cat is similar to in-utero sounds and soothes humans. Not to mention the enjoyment owners receive from the love of a kitty in our home. There is no better ownership than that of a cat owning its human!

All cats are good!