The Black Cat

"The Black Cat" is a short story by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in the August 19, 1843, edition of The Saturday Evening Post. In the story, an unnamed narrator, who suffers with alcoholism, has a strong affection for pets, until he perversely turns to abusing them. His favorite, a pet black cat, bites him one night and the narrator punishes it by cutting its eye out. The narrator then becomes conflicted when the black cat fears him. In a drunken rage, he then...