In Praise Of Black Cats

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Casper is now Cassie

Casper is now Cassie

Casper is now Cassie Peeper was a bit wild Midnight Munchkin Whineybutt Another of Cassie

I write this article in praise of black cats and the people who cherish them. Black cats most often are the last selected for adoption. The same holds true with black dogs. I'm here today to tell you black cats are the greatest!

I'll be the first to admit I'd only adopted one black cat prior to beginning my rescue. The year was 1985 and her name was Peeper. I loved her and she turned out to be a great companion, but her early years turned me against black cats for a long time. If I'd known then what I know now, I'd have recognized her as a feral who needed extra love.

Peeper was eight weeks old when I adopted her. We spent the first hour at home with me chasing her around the couch while my daughter Laura laughed at us. She grew into an independent, sneaky cat who didn't want a lot of human contact. In her later years she was very loving and extremely intelligent, but those first few years made me wary of black cats. She lived to the age of nine until a pack of dogs came into our yard and killed her. I'll always miss Peeper.

Fast forward to 2011 when I went on my first black cat rescue. Her name was Scrawny and she was listed as a two month old male turned into Greenville County Animal Care following a blizzard. Something about her picture spoke to me and I knew I had to have her. Here's her arrival story. https://pictures-of-cats.org/casper-the-invisible-kitten.html. We only found out she was a girl shortly before she was spayed and she turned her tail in my face and showed me her true gender.

So Casper became Cassie and she's now 11 months old. Cassie is a very laid back cat. She checks for an empty lap every time she takes a stroll through my living room. If my daughter or myself has a free spot for her she comes over for some major petting. Cassie is not only beautiful, she's beautiful on the inside. I'm so glad we rescued her.

Midnight Munchkin Whineybutt was our second black cat rescue. Here's her story. Midnight was also listed on the shelter paperwork as a "he" and turned out to be a "she." She was a member of the Maine Coon family we lost to feline distemper (panleuk) and the only surviving kitten. I did an article awhile ago on how black cats are healthier than other cats and I believe this is why she survived.

Midnight has always been a snuggle bug. She's not happy unless she's curled up in a lap or on the couch cushion between us. And Midnight knows her name and comes when called.

Cassie has a nurturing personality and often lays with the younger rescues. Midnight now plays with all of the kittens and we believe she'll be a HUGE cat when she matures.

Midnight and Cassie have gotten me hooked on black cats.

I don't believe superstition plays as big a part in black cat rejection as much as the sheer number in shelters does. I've visited the back room where I rescue and there are so many black cats. When confronted with cage after cage of cats who all look alike on the outside, it's easy to see why they're not chosen. The human eye is trained to spot the unusual. We see cats with unusual color patterns or colors and the black cats fade from our mind.

If people going into a shelter to adopt would just slow down and really connect with each black cat they see, I'm convinced there's a black cat out there for every cat lover. Don't rush past the cages toward the other cats without giving the black ones every consideration they deserve.

I do have a question for the readers out there. Are black cats calmer these days than they were 25 years ago? Did my cat Peeper fit the description of a feral or did the black cats of the 1980's have a different temperament? I'm just curious because she's the only "wild" kitten I adopted back in those days.

I'm fortunate to have such loving companions in my two black rescues.

And I'd love to hear comments from those of you who have black cat companions. Are they all as my Cassie and Midnight are. In other words TOTAL SNUGGLE BUGS? My babies are beautiful not only in appearance, but on the inside as well. I also like to know what persuaded those of you with black cats to adopt your cat.

Elisa

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In Praise Of Black Cats

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Oct 07, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar		 black cats
by: Gwen

I have had the pleasure of living with 3 black cats(males),2 of them still alive,and all of them the sweetest creatures!They have never been wild and one of them used to be a stray cat...
They are allways ready to cuddle and purr!
I have had (and have 8) many cats,I allways tought black cats were the softest caracters of them all...
They are all wonderfull though,no matter what color...

Oct 03, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar		 My 3 make me very happy
by: Alex Hamilton

As I am reading this, my Kizzy has just jumped in my lap. She is one of three black cats I have, all rescues. Kizzy was just 6 months old when my son, then 17, picked her out of a litter of black kittens. Her fur is like velvet, and she has a demeanor to match. Very vocal, always wants to be with (and on) people. If she feels that I am not giving her enough attention (with 6 other cats & 3 dogs), I usually find decapitated mice at my doorstep. Crankshaft (Cranky for short) found me... I was kneeling down petting another cat in a large outdoor enclosure, and he scrambled up my back and laid down on my shoulder. When I put him down to sit in a chair, he climbed in my lap. He knew he had me at that point. He is now 18 pounds, but still wants to be on a lap. And then there's Denzel, my main mouser. He loves to be picked up so he can see what the others can't. Although he's very large (tall & skinny), he has a very faint meow, that doesn't seem to fit his size.

Frankly, because they are all black, I think they've inherited the best of everything. We are all quite a sight in the morning: me, my big black dogs, and my black cats. We kinda look like a funeral procession.

Sep 30, 2011
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starstarstarstar		 Correction
by: Anonymous

I inadvertently sent my recent post as "Anonymous". Past my bedtime is my attempt at excuse. I, Grahame, posted on black moggies, Elisa.

Sep 30, 2011
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starstarstarstar		 Black Cat Temperament
by: Anonymous

Elisa, from the anecdotal information you have given, it is impossible to attribute temperament to blackness in cats. Most all of these black cats being considered here are moggies, of extremely mixed genetic makeup.

Now, that having been (rightly) said, I rescued a black moggie years ago. He lived the rest of his natural life (17 years) with me. At first I had to wear gauntleted gloves when handling him. He scratched and bit and exhibited hyperesthesia. After a few years, he became the sweetest, mellow, even shy cat and I loved him greatly. He was, for many years, the alpha cat here, but he came to share precedence with my other cats and it was, then, more of a token assertion. Rarely, the fur would fly, but it was more of a game than not. None of this proves anything concerning black cat temperament, but is merely an anecdote concerning Sasha.

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