Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day - Aug 17

 

Today is National Black Cat Appreciation Day - to honor these lovely house panthers and  raise awareness that black cats (and dogs) are the last to get adopted and the first to be euthanized in most shelters across the US.


The reasons are many - they don't photograph well indoors, don't show up well in cages, and have superstitions concerning them dating to medieval ages. We need to tell people how great black cats (and dogs) are!

Black cats have a long history. They were probably the first color variety to arise from the ancestral tabby.  The black mutation  is thought to have originated in the eastern Mediterranean and the cats then spread by Phoenician traders.  Today the highest concentration of black cats are found in Britain, northwest Africa, the Mediterranean, Rome and Florence.



We know how terrific black cats are since we had a whole feral colony of black cats at one time.  Sadly only three are left - Sweetpea, Mamacita and Rosa. It is so silly how people think black cats are bad luck.  We love ours and each one has been so very different in personality and size.  

Sweetpea a few years back

House panther, Sweetpea is our tiny girl at less than five pounds. She is 17 and our only  long haired black cat.  She was the first one we took indoors.  To read her gotcha story go here.  Even as tiny as she is, she is feisty and a wriggler if she does not want to be held.  She loves to play on the bed while I make it up.She prefers quiet toys to chase around the house - yarn balls or catnip toys.  Lately she enjoys napping on the back porch with Mr Kitty in the mornings. (She is responding well to her herbal hyperthyroid and CRF  treatment.)

Mamacita and Rosa

They have slimmed down in the past few years but I called Mamacita and her daughter Rosa my sumo wrestler cats.  Late at night after we have gone to bed, they love to roll on the floor wresting with each other and make loud thumps as they toss each other around. Both are very secretive and come out only if we are quietly watching TV or at feeding times.  They will hide under the bed if anyone else comes to visit.

Mamacita on the porch

Mamacita is 11 and is very shy.  She will approach me or Don to sit next to us on the sofa if she wants cuddles.  If you try to pet her any other place, she will run away or pull out of reach.  She is still chubby and has some issues walking with her front legs.  We are treating that with glucosamine. She keeps to herself, preferring Rosa to the other cats.  

Rosa playing hard to get.

Rosa, age 10,  has become more outgoing than her mom.  She loves to be petted and will meow and turn in circles on the chair for more attention.  Eventually she gets too excited and runs off.  She loves her mom cat and will lay next to her, kneading her tummy like she was still a kitten.  Mamacita still spends a lot of time grooming her and they are very close. The story of how we came to have these two girls is here.


So in honor of this special day, please consider adopting a black cat (or dog) from a shelter. You will be saving a life.

17 comments:

Summer said...

We sure love black cats here!

The Daily Pip said...

Our black cat, Rosie, is going to be super mad at me for not realizing today is Black Cat Appreciation Day. Oops! I love black cats. I never realized their plight until I volunteered in a shelter and saw first hand how often they are overlooked and ignored by adopters. Rosie is our first black cat, but she will definitely not be our last.

Eastside Cats said...

We love black cats! Yours are cuties!

ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

With having tuxedo cats I have the best of both worlds black and white. I do fully agree that black or white cats are hard to photograph, but when you get it right the photos are superb. WE all think all of your black cats are so beautiful!

Brian's Home Blog said...

We think black cats rock and we have three in our feral family!

da tabbies o trout towne said...

houz pantherz rock...they all wayz haz...they all wayz will ! ♥♥♥

The Island Cats said...

Well, you know we are big black cat fans here! Black cats rock!

meowmeowmans said...

Black Cats ROCK! And we're not just saying that because of Gracie and Zoe. :)

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

just gorgeous! Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day!!! xoxo catchatwithcarenandcody

WildCat said...

A purrfect tribute to black cats❤️

Momma Kat and Her Bear Cat said...

Gorgeous black cats :)

Three Chatty Cats said...

Great post and Hapy Black Cat Appreciation Day! I hope to have a black cat one day.

pilch92 said...

Happy Belated Black Cat Appreciation Day! Your black kitties are all adorable.

Sweet Purrfections said...

It's so sad that superstitions are keeping people from adopting black cats. We think they are beautiful.

Marty the Manx said...

I loved my black cat B.J. (Black Jack) whom I adopted from my Aunt when she was moving and couldn't take him. Black cats are sweet and I have never met one who didn't have lots of love in them. You do have three very special panfurs and Angel Ivy.

Connie - Tails from the Foster Kittens said...

Black cats are awesome, but they are so very hard to photograph in detail. Most of the cameras in 'auto mode' have no idea what to do with them. Hopefully, someone will come up with some bit of computer code to fix that one day.

World of Animals, Inc said...

Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day!! We hope all you black kitties had a wonderful time celebrating all the fun. Thanks for the share. Have a pawsome rest of your day.
World of Animals

ShareThis

LinkWithin

Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin

Please Follow Us...new posts don't always show in Google Reader so check in with us often!