History Main / AllWitchesHaveCats

Compare RightHandCat, CatsAreMagic, and {{Familiar}}. Sometimes the cat in question is a PantheraAwesome.

* On ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer,'' Willow and Tara get [[FormallyNamedPet Miss Kitty Fantastico]]. Willow first thought that they were invoking this trope, but Tara admits that she just likes cats. Miss Kitty Fantastico only appears a few times before [[AbsentAnimalCompanion apparently succumbing to a crossbow accident]].

* ''Literature/TheHouseOfNight'': Vampyres are basically a WitchSpecies, as they cast spells and even practice a pseudo-Wiccan religion, and apparently have a great affinity for cats. (Cats even used to be killed in the old days, under the belief that they turned people into vampyres.) Neferet has one named Skylar, who [[spoiler:rejects her when her HeelFaceTurn is revealed]].

* ''VideoGame/SoulAtStake'': Gran "The Witch" has a BlackCat appear on her back whenever she [[BalefulPolymorph turns a gambler into a cat]].

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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/whitecat_848.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Why witches hang out with black cats."]]

* Myth/NorseMythology: Freyja is the goddess of seidr, a form of magic considered exclusively feminine, and her cart is drawn by two cats. Since Norse religion was often considered tantamount to witchcraft by medieval Christians, this makes Freyja the indirect TropeMaker.

* Also with Islam, where Cats are considered THE favored pet of the faith and routinely welcomed into mosques where they are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF7pTSCP4UM petted and cherished]]. They are most certainly not regarded as witchy at all, with a story by Abu Hurairah (father of kittens) claiming that a woman mistreating a cat was a sign of her coming time in hell. A cat's affection toward you is a sign of Allah's favor. Cats do have some "magical" qualities in the faith due to being favored by Muhammad[[note]]who once took a nap, woke up to find a kitten curled up on the sleeve of his gown, and carefully cut off the sleeve rather than wake the little guy[[/note]] -- but these are holy attributes. [[note]]A Muslim journalist actually cited [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvHs_dEIIo8 this video]] as extremely significant in why journalist Jamal Khashoggi was feared by members of the Saudi royal family. He was absolutely serious.[[/note]] Cats are revered in Islam due to their hygiene and like in Judaism and Christianity, dogs are seen as unclean. In the pre-Islamic era, the Middle East was already fond of cats as the species had a long presence in the region (having been domesticated there) and served as pest control.
* Also with the ancient Egyptians. Cats were viewed as sacred animals and considered the physical embodiment of goddess Bastet. Certain types were considered especially sacred and lived in the holiest part of temples. Cats were admired for catching vermin, fighting cobras, and for their gentleness towards their offspring. The changes in their pupils, similar to the moon's phases, and their giving off static electricity when brushed, were considered further proof of their relation to divinity. Rich people dressed their cats in jeweled collars, and they were fed and treated like royalty. To dream of a cat meant good fortune, and especially indicated a plentiful harvest. This changed the way Bastet was portrayed as she was originally depicted as a fierce lioness goddess of war but during the Twenty-second Dynasty, Bastet worship changed from being a lioness deity into being predominantly a major cat deity of love and family. The city of Per-Bast was famous worldwide for its beautiful cat temple.

* Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/OperationChaos'': The witch Virginia "Ginny" Matuchek has a cat named Svartalf as a familiar.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[http://www.shoeboxblog.com/ "Why witches hang out with black cats."]]]]

In early modern European superstition, it was thought that one way to identify if someone was a [[WitchClassic witch]] was if they owned a cat. This cat was believed to be some form of [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon]] or evil spirit in disguise, acting as the witch's {{Familiar}} and aiding her in her spells. These days witches and cats don't have such bad reputations, but their association with each other persists and the once perhaps dubious stereotype has become TruthInTelevision as those into modern Witchcraft favor cats due to the old claims. If a show has a witch, there is an extremely good chance that witch has a cat. Sometimes simply owning a cat is used as a hint or foreshadowing that a woman living alone might have a secret magical nature. Conversely, if a witch is losing her powers, a common first clue is that her cat spends less time by her side.

And doesn't that make [[JustForPun purrfect]] sense? Everyone knows that CatsAreMagic, not to mention [[CatsAreSuperior the best]], so of ''course'' any witch worth her [[FlyingBroomstick broomstick]] would be owned by one, if not a whole clowder of cats. In fact it's not uncommon for a witch to have a such a [[KindheartedCatLover soft spot for her feline friends]] that she doubles as a CrazyCatLady, owning a dozen or more. Such witches are usually considered quirky and tend to be of the [[GoodWitchVersusBadWitch good variety]], the same if a witch owns cats with coat colors outside the stereotypical black. The cat is the most common {{Familiar}} for a witch by far, though sometimes the association is so strong that it's not that the witch ''owns'' a cat, but she ''is'' a cat!

Compare RightHandCat, CatsAreMagic and {{Familiar}}. Sometimes the cat in question is a PantheraAwesome.

* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'': The Sailor Soldiers, a MagicalGirlWarrior group, have three guardian cats Artemis (white), Luna (black - though sometimes appears dark blue) and their daughter Diana (grey). This is most likely a spill over from the fact that MGW trope descended from the CuteWitch.

** In the first episode, what Maka and Soul thought was a witch turned out to actually be a cat that had a human form and magic and merely dressed like a witch. The actual witches however, have their own AnimalMotifs, none of which have been cats.

* ''Film/BedknobsAndBroomsticks'': Miss Price has learned to be a witch through mail-order lessons. She doesn't believe in giving names to animals, but calls her cat Cosmic Creepers "because that's the name he came with". One presumes she got a black cat because witches are expected to have one. That said, she never shows cruelty or resentment to the animal, and makes sure he's fed (but not on houseguests that she's turned into rabbits, of course!).
* In ''Film/BellBookAndCandle'', HotWitch Gillain Holroyd has Pyewacket, a Siamese cat that she uses as her {{Familiar}}. [[spoiler:When she gives up her powers at the end, Pyewacket runs away.]]

* Creator/EleanorEstes' ''Literature/TheWitchFamily'': This novel has real, right, regular witches -- Old Witch, six-year-old Hannah and six-month-old Beebee, who dress in black, ride broomsticks and have cats. Beebee has a tiny kitten who clings upside down to his mistress' broomstick.

** The Perwinkles adopt Pampuria, a white cat that used to belong to a family acquaintance, after he died. Vanilla, a Witch of the Light, is her main caretaker.

* ''Literature/GobbolinoTheWitchesCat'': This story {{Subvert|edTrope}}s the normal relationship between cats and witches. The eponymous Gobbolino has [[IJustWantToBeNormal no interest in being a witch's familiar, and would prefer the life of a humble house cat]].

** A cat is one of the animals which wizarding students can bring as a pet to Hogwarts. In this case the cats are merely pets, not familiars. According to bonus materials, many of them are part Kneazle, a magical animal that's basically a smarter cat. In book three, Hermione gets one named Crookshanks.

* ''Literature/MegAndMog'': The title characters are a classic witch and her black and white-striped cat.

** Molly's cat Isabelle a long-haired gray, was a fourteenth century witch who was burned at the stake.

** In episode "En la casa de la bruja" (In the house of the witch), Chavo, Chilindrina and Kiko enter Doña Clotilde's house and see the typical HauntedHouse with her as a crone in a cauldron. In that episode her pet ''Satanás'' (Satan in Spanish) is a white cat. Of course at the end is AllJustADream.

* ''Series/{{Grimm}}'': Adalind is a [[WickedWitch Hexenbiest]] and has a pet cat, which comes handy when she wants to curse Juliette, as she's a vet.

* ''Series/DieLieweHeksie'': This South African puppet-based childrens' TV show has Livinia; a witch with ''two'' cats. There is Mattewis, the kitten/cat whose function is to be a timid little kittie who miouws a lot and is the indespensible companion to a working witch. Then there is Karel Kat, her sophisticated friend, a sort of NonHumanSidekick, who is essentially an anthropomorphic cat who dresses smartly, drives a smart car, and flies a helicopter. Karel and Mattewis are never really seen interacting.

* ''Series/SimonAndTheWitch'': The witch has a cat called George, known for eating wooden items such as furniture when the witch forgets to feed him. In the first series he runs away from home and goes on a spree of destruction of wooden items across the country. Averted with the witch's sister Tombola, who lives somewhere in Africa, thinks cats are old-fashioned and instead has a gorilla called Banana and several snakes.

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In "Halloween Party", Mr. Boynton observes that the two figures most associated with Halloween are witches and black cats. Miss Brooks is offended when Mr. Boynton, Stretch Snodgrass and Walter Denton all think that she'd be perfect dressed as a witch for the party. Miss Brooks eventually gives in...

* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', Player Characters who can cast Arcane Spells (like Wizards) can summon familiars, and cats are one of the of the available choices. (Not the only choice, however, and in some editions, the caster had no control over what animal he got.)

* The Witch subclass in ''VideoGame/DungeonFighterOnline'' picks up Shadow Cat Pluto among her elemental familiars, and all members of the base Female Mage class produce an image of Pluto for one core attack. (Among the lore fallen by the wayside in one game revamp or another is that making the familiar pact was a part of the questline to becoming a Witch, and that the base Mage spell actually conjures a momentary knockoff of Pluto out of the caster's mana.)

* ''VideoGame/YesYourGrace'': When Ivo starts his WitchHunt, one of his criteria to tell if someone is witch is ownership of pets, with cats among the examples.

In medieval European superstition, it was thought that one way to identify if someone was a [[WitchClassic witch]] was if they owned a cat. This cat was believed to be some form of [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon]] or evil spirit in disguise, acting as the witch's {{Familiar}} and aiding her in her spells. These days witches and cats don't have such bad reputations, but their association with each other persists and the once perhaps dubious stereotype has become TruthInTelevision as those into modern Witchcraft favor cats due to the old claims. If a show has a witch, there is an extremely good chance that witch has a cat. Sometimes simply owning a cat is used as a hint or foreshadowing that a woman living alone might have a secret magical nature. Conversely, if a witch is losing her powers, a common first clue is that her cat spends less time by her side.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': The catfolk race, who can take levels in Witch. Witch is also the only class to ''have'' to have a familiar (ignoring a few scattered archetypes), even if it doesn't have to be a cat (witches renew their magic spells by communing with their familiar, and other classes either don't get the ability by default or can choose to bind themselves to an item instead).

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':

** Later in the series, Granny Weatherwax (oldest member of the coven) is given a white kitten, which she initially disdains but soon grows quite fond of, not that she’d ever admit it. She merely names it "You", as in “get down from there, You” or “stop that, You.” You is later inherited by Tiffany Aching in ''Literature/TheShepherdsCrown'' [[spoiler: after Granny's death.]]

** Later in the series, Granny Weatherwax (oldest member of the coven) is given a white kitten, who she merely names "You". You is later inherited by Tiffany Aching in ''Literature/TheShepherdsCrown'' [[spoiler: after Granny's death.]]

** A later episode offhandedly reveals there's been a witch with a cat motif in plain sight all along, and we didn't notice the latter point ''because'' it's a domestic cat -- the personality feedback from which being one of the things which scares her into repressing her powers as much as possible. (Apparently she'd be a lot more like Blair if she let herself slide into full witchness, and she's not really inclined that way.)

** ''ComicBook/KlarionTheWitchBoy'': Klarian and his cat Teekl. Klarian is a "witchboy" and his familiar, Teekl, has the ability to take a [[CatFolk humanoid form]].

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* The eponymous Sakura of ''Manga/CardCaptorSakura'' has instead what appears to be a small yellow lion cub (or teddy bear, depending on whom you ask) with wings, that she calls "Kero-chan." It turns out that "Kero-chan"'s real name is Cerberus, and he's really a full-sized, armored ''lion'' with wings. Similarly, Eriol has what looks like a small, winged black kitten, but is really a panther with blue butterfly wings. Both of these animals are Sun Guardians.

** A later episode offhandedly reveals there's been a witch with a cat motif in plain sight all along, and we didn't notice the latter point ''because'' it's a domestic cat - the personality feedback from which being one of the things which scares her into repressing her powers as much as possible. (Apparently she'd be a lot more like Blair if she let herself slide into full witchness, and she's not really inclined that way.)

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]

[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]

[[folder:Mythology and Legend]]

* Averted in Myth/AfricanMythology, where witches rode dogs, or [[DependingOnTheWriter in some cases]], ''[[CoolPet hyenas]]''.

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In "Halloween Party", Mr. Boynton observes that the two figures most associated with Halloween are witches and black cats. Miss Brooks is offended when Mr. Boynton, Stretch Snodgrass and Walter Denton all think that she'd be perfect dressed as a witch for the party. Miss Brooks eventually gives in . . . .
-->'''Miss Brooks''': Connie Brooks rides tonight!

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[[folder:Webcomics]]

* {{Subverted}} in ''WebComic/WildeLife''--Of the three witches we've met so far, two don't seem to have any pets, while Barbara Yaga has two dogs (whom she occasionally transforms into human children).

* Literature/WhateleyUniverse

** On the other hand, Josie Gilman's 'familiar', Schrodinger, only ''looks'' like a black cat much of the time - he is actualy [[EldritchAbomination Shoggoth]] who somehow bonded with Josie.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' dealt with a neighborhood witch taking Lydia's black cat, forcing Lydia and Beetlejuice to crash a witchs' Halloween party to retrieve the animal.
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'': The witch in "Home Sweet Homer' has a black cat.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'', the Ghostbusters discovered a cat familiar that had been separated from its witch. Before they could find its owner, Slimer started to unintentionally make good use of its powers, causing them a LOT of trouble.
* ''WesternAnimation/SabrinaTheAnimatedSeries''. Like [[Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch the live action series]], the younger Sabrina and her family own a wise-talking black cat who was once a powerful wizard. Here, however, he can be more anthropomorphic and actually has some magic powers himself, though they're far weaker than he had as a human. In the spin-off, ''Sabrina's Secret Life'', Sabrina's AlphaBitch witch rival, Cassandra, owns a white rabbit who may also have once been human. This is inverted in the Filmation series. As in the comics, Salem is an orange marmalade.

* Practitioners of Wicca and other forms of Neo-Paganism do seem to favor cats above all other pets. Of course, this trope might be partially responsible--if you grow up associating witches with cats due to media, then when you become a witch, it might seem only natural to get a cat yourself. Or perhaps the kind of people who are more likely to find Wicca an attractive choice for a religion are also the kind of people who are more likely to find a cat a more attractive choice for a pet.

* Also with the ancient Egyptians. Cats were viewed as sacred animals and considered the physical embodiments of goddess Bastet. Certain types were considered especially sacred and lived in the holiest part of temples. Cats were admired for catching vermin, fighting cobras, and for their gentleness towards their offspring. The changes in their pupils, similar to the moon's phases, and their giving off static electricity when brushed, were considered further proof of their relation to divinity. Rich people dressed their cats in jeweled collars, and they were fed and treated like royalty. To dream of a cat meant good fortune, and especially indicated a plentiful harvest. This changed the way Bastet was portrayed as she was originally depicted as a fierce lioness goddess of war but during the Twenty-second Dynasty, Bastet worship changed from being a lioness deity into being predominantly a major cat deity of love and family. The city of Per-Bast was famous worldwide for its beautiful cat temple.

In medieval European superstition, it was thought that one way to identify if someone was a [[WitchClassic witch]] was if they owned a cat. This cat was believed to be some form of [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon]] or evil spirit in disguise, acting as the witch's {{Familiar}} and aiding her in her spells. These days witches and cats don't have such bad reputations, but their association with each other persists and the once perhaps dubious stereotype has become TruthInTelevision as those into modern Witchcraft favor cats due to the old claims. If a show has a witch, there is an extremely good chance that witch has a cat. Sometimes simply owning a cat is used as a hint or foreshadowing that a woman living alone might have a secret magical nature.

* ''Series/HorribleHistories'': In the 'Witchfinders Direct' advert, the entire [[KangarooCourt witchcraft trial]] consists of finding a warty old woman and asking her if she has a cat. When she says "Yes", she is immediately declared a with and [[BurnTheWitch burned at the stake]].

** Amity eventually gets a white cat [[{{Familiar palisman}}]] named Ghost.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': [[WitchClassic Eda's]] roommate King is a small black-furred demon that looks ''[[CartoonCreature somewhat]]'' like a cat, but acts more like a dog and is often referred to as such.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': [[WitchClassic Eda's]] roommate King is a small black-furred demon that looks ''[[CartoonCreature somewhat]]'' like a cat.

* Creator/DCComics' ''ComicBook/KlarionTheWitchBoy'': Klarian and his cat Teekl. Klarian is a "witchboy" and his familiar, Teekl, has the ability to take a [[CatFolk humanoid form]].

* In ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'', the main characters are three witch sisters, and they inherited a cat, Kit, along with their powers. Eventually she was only being shown in stock footage, [[AbsentAnimalCompanion then disappeared]]; a later episode has her [[AbsentAnimalCompanion come back]] [[HumanityEnsues as a human]], revealing that she was actually a familiar and did it so well that she's now been assigned to train more familiars for other witches.

* In ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'', the main characters are three witch sisters, and they inherited a cat, Kit, along with their powers. Eventually she was only being shown in stock footage, then disappeared; a later episode has her [[AbsentAnimalCompanion come back]] [[HumanityEnsues as a human]], revealing that she was actually a familiar and did it so well that she's now been assigned to train more familiars for other witches.

** A cat is one of the animals which wizarding students can bring as a pet to Hogwarts. In this case the cats are merely pets, not familiars. In book three, Hermione gets a very perceptive (part-Kneazle) cat named Crookshanks.

** There's also Mrs Figg, a CrazyCatLady who lived near the Dursleys who turned out to be [[MuggleBornOfMages a Squib]] that was there to keep an eye out on Harry the entire time.
** The caretaker Argus Filch has a rather intelligent cat, Mrs. Norris, who patrols Hogwarts looking for troublemakers with her master.