The cat stole the spotlight at MetLife Stadium during the second quarter of the Cowboy’s Monday night road game against the New York Giants. In an apparent state of bewilderment over its sudden stardom, the confused feline ran around the field and into the end zone before finally escaping attention by running into a tunnel and under the bleachers. Before the cat’s arrival, the Giants were winning 9-3, but after the incident, the Cowboys went on to win the game 37-18.
In a reversal of the superstitions that traditionally accompany black cats, some Cowboys fans now apparently consider their appearance a good luck omen. A Dallas animal shelter has reported that two black cats have been quickly adopted the day after the game. They had previously struggled to find the animals homes, as people searching for a new pet appear more likely to overlook cats with dark fur.
“Often when they’re in these darker dimly-lit kennels and things like that, if they’re in the back people might walk right by them and not even noticed they are in there,” Leah Backo of Dallas Animal Services told KTXA. “I really hope the people see that and think black cats can be good luck.”
The cat at the football game was apparently one of a large number of stray cats that live at the stadium. Fans and animal lovers have been inquiring about the cat since before the game ended, but despite indulging an audience for one night only, the animal does not so far appear to be interested in making further appearances.
“Everyone is asking about that black cat,” a stadium security guard told The New York Post. “It lives here in the stadium and the cleaning crew feeds it. What else do you want to know?”
Cultural superstitions and folklore have resulted in black cats often being considered bringers of bad luck in many parts of the world, including the United States. Of course, no evidence exists to support the notion that black cats or any other animal effects the luck of humans in any way. The unlucky reputation also seems to depend on geography, as some places including Japan and parts of the UK are said to consider the animals emblematic of good luck.
Unfortunately, the ill-founded reputation has resulted in black cats being adopted far less than other types of cat. Black-furred cats are up to 50 percent less likely to get adopted than cats with different fur colors. They are also euthanized at the highest rates of all sheltered house cats.
Some shelters hold off on allowing black cat adoptions during the Halloween season, to prevent the animals from being used as a temporary costume accessory, and alleviate fears that unhinged people could adopt the animals with the intent of sacrificing them.
It hasn’t all been bad luck for the raven-haired critters. In addition to the recent love from Cowboys fans, a holiday celebrating black-furred feline friendships happens every August 17, National Black Cat Appreciation Day.
