Cat superstitions

-- If a black cat crosses your path, evil will soon befall you. (In England, however, the evil can be canceled if you spit right away.)

-- If a cat leaves home while a person is sick and cannot be coaxed back, the person will die.

-- If a cat puts its paw behind its ear when it scratches (which it almost always does), rain is on the way.

-- Kittens born in the month of May will bring snakes into the house.

-- If you wake up in the morning and see cats playing, the rest of the day will be wasted.

-- In the days of the great sailing ships, sailors always took a cat on board the boat. On very calm days when no wind filled the sails, they would lock the cat in a cupboard. This would bring a breeze.

-- To meet a cat at midnight is to meet Satan, himself.

-- Never leave a cat alone with an infant. The cat will suck the breath right out of the child.

-- Tortoiseshell cats are considered lucky in Great Britain.

-- If cats run around wildly, then expect a wind to blow up.

-- If a cat sneezes near the bride-to-be on the morning of the wedding, she will have a happy life.

-- Stroking the tail of a black cat will cure a sty in the eye.

-- Cats found lurking in coal mines are considered to be bad luck.

Pets becoming fashion accessories in China

As the Chinese economy continues to develop at a rapid pace the country is adopting a wide range of cultural trends from the west.

The latest western fashion to sweep the world's fastest growing economy is pet ownership.

Dogs especially are becoming more and more common, with Chinese citizens prepared to spend big on the most sought after pooches.

"In China, more and more people are raising pets," Liu Ming, a pet shop owner in Guangzhou, told Reuters. "It's not as difficult as before."

China's economic growth has led to a rapid expansion of the middle classes, meaning that millions of Chinese people have more money to spend than ever before.