It’s Friday the 13th, a Great Day to Adopt a Black Cat!
Really, any day is a good day to adopt a black cat, but during Adopt a Cat Month, at a time of year when so many kittens are overloading shelters, consider how happy you’d make a purring and affectionate house panther to get out of there to a home of its own. Or two house panthers. Or, well…wouldn’t everyone want a house full of glossy black fur and sparkling amber and emerald eyes? After living with a house full of all changing patterns and colors for decades I love the symmetry of this household and every day, in every photo and sketch and reference to them, I hope to inspire others to take a second look at black cats in shelters and rescues, on websites and on the internet.
Yes, that rich black fur does seem to hold a mystery, and the contrast of bright eyes like gems in that fur is positively enchanting. Each day a spell is cast upon me by one or more black cats, and I am helpless to resist their charms… Certainly if black cats had some particular magic effect on humans I’d be experiencing the effects five-fold—even six-fold at some points in the past year. I admit, I feel a great amount of creative inspiration. Feels like magic to me.
But perhaps other humans aren’t subject to their charms, or they need a greater dose of black cat charisma to get the full effect because black cats are often passed over for adoption at shelters and rescues. Let’s try this.
I know we all think our own fur children are each the most beautiful in the whole world, but sometimes Mr. Sunshine absolutely leaves me speechless with his beauty. But if you saw him in a cage at a shelter, or on an adoption website, you wouldn’t see all the tones in his fur, the delicate details of his nose and mouth, his exotic slanted eyes and those long, long whiskers. Those fine house panthers looking for a home don’t have the advantage Mr. Sunshine does when presenting himself even with the best photography, so when you consider adopting a cat and see a black cat available for adoption, think of Mr. Sunshine in all his exquisite beauty and know that the black cat you are looking at really looks more like this underneath.
. . . . . . .
Friday the 13th of any month is one of those days when superstitions edge up a bit, and black cats have always been somehow related to it all.
It may be superstition, or fear of an animal whose shape and shiny black fur pricks our instinctive fear of wild animals who are black such as panthers, bears and snakes. Because they are black their bright eyes and white teeth contrast with the depths of their fur and their gaze may appear to be a menacing glare instead of a curious and intelligent expression, their yawn may look like a snarl. Seeing the reactions of visitors to me and my friendly cats over the years, the reaction to gray and white Namir’s slanted green eyes was usually, “Isn’t he handsome!” and an immediate affection session ensued while often the reaction to Giuseppe with the same expression was, “Why is that cat staring at me?” even from people who knew cats. Even now when up to five black cats greet visitors, eagerly reaching to touch them and make contact, I see a little hesitation and surprise, but perhaps that’s just the overwhelming effect of five black cats all at once!
Really, I think it’s because they are simply hard for our eyes to figure out—they are dark and we often can’t see familiar details like noses and cheekbones and even whiskers, and if they are curled we often can’t see the familiar shape of a cat’s body. Also, the human eye is drawn to color and pattern, and all those torties and calicoes and tabbies and spotted cats are visually interesting at first glance, where it takes a bit to look over a black cat and orient ourselves to that same feline shape beneath.
I’m not one to think coat color and personality have much in common any more than human skin color indicates personality. Many people say black cats are friendlier and more intelligent than other cats, bit I think that’s only because they’ve had a spell cast on them by a black cat, the spell of love from having shared their life with a black cat, and it’s only natural to elevate those we love to a higher pedestal than all else around.
Each day on The Creative Cat I do my best to present my five wonderful black cats, literally, in the best light. I love to show off my fur children and share my inspirations, but especially since the five have been with me I’ve found an opportunity to do even more, to show these wonderful cats in their everyday life, and I also included our geriatric sister, Emeraude of the exotic emerald eyes. It’s been a challenge in the six years they’ve been with me, to use natural light and natural settings to share their beauty with anyone who will look and hope that any last vestiges of fear or superstition or a sense of unfamiliarity can be dispelled by seeing these five black cats simply being a bunch of happy, friendly cats. I do have a category for “black cats” which today holds 1,630 posts of photos, art and stories, and in the category list you can also choose any of the black cats who’ve lived with me and see posts that feature them, or you can simply scroll through my posts each day and you’ll quickly get your fill of black cats—and you’ll want to adopt one immediately, I’m sure!
And that’s a good thing because shelters and rescues often have “black cat adoption” specials in the fall when we really do find many black cats still waiting for their forever home. In nearly every “cats for adoption” post I’ve entered here you’ll find at least one black cat or kitten who is looking for a home, often multiple black cats.
Special Offer for Black Cat Adoptions
Now through 2014, I’ll send a copy of my Compositions in Black and Green 2014 calendar to anyone who rescues or adopts a black cat so that you can use it to keep track of all the wonderful things your house panther does. Or keep track of the house panther you’ve rescued so that you can keep track of veterinary records and send it along with the person who adopts the cat you’ve rescued.
Just email your rescue story to me, or a copy of your adoption contract—all personal information you don’t want to share eliminated of course—and a photo of your cat. I will keep all of your information completely private unless you want to share it with my readers.
Mr. Sunshine and the photo at the top of this article is our December cat this year, and Emeraude is our August kitty including the photo just above.
If you’d like to to purchase a Compositions in Black and Green 2014 calendar as a gift or for yourself, visit my Etsy shop.
Browse some rescued cats and kittens!
Click here to nominate “www.TheCreativeCat.net” for a Petties Award.
Best Cat Blog: www.TheCreativeCat.net
Best Blog Post: https://thecreativecat.net/devoted-to-the-end-frankencat-and-old-grand-dad/#.U5KJIyjX-wM,
- Petties 2014
Read more about the Petties in this post.
Subscribe to The Creative Cat on your Kindle
Start with a 14-day free trial. You can cancel at any time during the free trial period. If you enjoy your subscription, do nothing and it will automatically continue at the regular monthly price of 99 cents. Click here to subscribe to The Creative Cat on your Kindle.
All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.
© 2014 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski
Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN | ETSY SHOP | PINTEREST | TUMBLR | STUMBLEUPON | GOOGLE+ | EMAIL
Pingback: The Creative Cat - Daily Photo Reprise: The Secret to Kelly’s Green Eyes, 2012
We have always taken in whatever cats have came to us, and many have been black kitties; I think they have a special kind of beauty and presence. If I’m ever able to adopt again, I’ll probably seek out a black cat. I really enjoy seeing your excellent natural light photos of your cats! I favor ambient room light, sun and a little artificial, when taking pictures myself.
I’m on my third generation of approximately three cats per generation. There have been overlaps over the years. Each generation is unique unto themselves. I still have to say I have never witnessed such truly unique personalities as my two tortoiseshell cats. Seven females and two males all told. I must say the males were the most loving. My next generation will have whatever God chooses for me but I hope it will include a black cat as my Mom had two as we were growing up and I did love them. They were quite the characters!
Anne, how wonderful to hear about your household of felines! I have never adopted a cat, they have all been rescues. I have rescued for 30 years, and always had seven to nine, sometimes more during kitten season, all starting as fosters but a few became permanent. In my households, both males and females were loving and friendly equally–my tortie Cookie was my best friend for all her 20 years, and overlapping her for a few years it was my rescuer, my handsome first black cat Kublai. These five are a tight family, but Mimi is my girl.
I find myself drawn to the black cats even when I say I have enough black cats in the house already! In our house they are not called black cats but the chocolates.
Linda, I call mine the beans! They are all related and there’s a medical reason why I kept them all, but I had four other senior cats when they came to me, none of them black!