"The Black Cat" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in the August 19, 1843. The story opens in a style typical of Poe’s works. An unnamed narrator claims to be perfectly sane and logical, yet the manner of his writing and the story he goes on to relate both seem to prove otherwise. Poe uses an unreliable narrator. The narrator loves animals. He and his wife have many pets, including a large black cat named Pluto. This cat is especially fond of the narrator and vice versa. Their mutual friendship lasts for several years, until the narrator becomes an alcoholic. One night, after coming home intoxicated, he wishes the cat out of his presence, and tries to remove him physically. The cat then bites the narrator, and in a fit of rage, he seizes the animal, pulls a pen-knife from his pocket, and deliberately gouges out the cat’s eye.