Cats play an important role in every owner’s life but they’ve been particularly popular in movies. In “Alien,” Ripley went out of her way to save an orange cat. In “The Matrix,” the existence of a black cat signals that something has been changed in the Matrix.

If you’re an aspiring screenwriting, you can’t go wrong with putting a cat in your story. As soon as people see a cat, they automatically feel happy even if there’s a killer alien wiping out a starship crew or a black cat signaling intelligent machines trying to wipe out the human race.

The next time you want to put a smile on your face, pet your cat. If you can’t do that, watch a movie with a cat in it. It will make you feel good anyway.

To learn more about the black cat in “The Matrix,” click here.