Black Cats are Nothing to Fear

Even if you’ve never read a single post, there is only one thing to take away from this blog: black cats are nothing to fear. To sum it up, they are simply just like every other cat, except abandoned and unwanted for the color of their fur. The superstitions around them have still lingered in this society, making them last in favorite cat types. Black cats deserve love and care, and this blog’s entire purpose was to indicate that. They are affectionate, playful, loving and just as good as any other cat. Please don’t treat them any different.

 This is Mama Mia from Cat’s Cradle. In her bio, it states that she is a quiet cat who likes to be pet and needs to be in an only-cat home.

However, I have personally seen this cat and played with her. She likes to sleep in a ball, in a cushioned bed. She loves ball cat toys with bells in the middle. She loves to play tug-of-war and will close her eyes if you pet her under her chin. She likes to keep to herself, but will seek attention if you have the time to give it. Sometimes, a black cat’s bio will need to be more information-rich in order for a prospective owner to adopt, since the appearance alone is enough to deter.

Give a black cat a chance.

Need Reasons to Love a Black Cat?

Perhaps you need a reason to love a black cat, or just really want to look at some cute pictures of cats. Well, Buzzfeed’s 28 Reasons to Love Black Cats should settle your mind once and for all.

28 Reasons to Love Black Cats

 

Top to Bottom: Iris, Addy and Mr. Shmitten can be adopted from AlexandriaAnimals!

Black Cat Day

In the UK (among others), October 27 has been designated as Black Cat Day. On this day, people celebrate the existence of black cats and to treat them with extra kindness. Often people will take to social media, posting images of their black cats. There is also a Black Cat Appreciation Day on August 17th. These days are very similar to each other, as black cats are shown extra care and media attention during this period. It’s important that we have appreciation days like this, to help debunk the false pretenses about black fur and to show the world that these cats should be nothing to fear. Next time, on October 27 or August 17, show black cats a little love.

Black Cat Day

Black Cat Appreciation Day

Top to Bottom: Mink and Skywalker are adoptable from Cat’s Bridge!

The Aesthetic Problem

Please read this article:

Pets with black fur: why don’t you look good on social media?

to see a personal view of the problem society has with adopting non- aesthetic animals. It’s disappointing and ignorant of others to discriminate against animals because of their appearance. I hope this article will help you to feel the same!

 

From Top to Bottom: Elpon, Lily and Amos are all ready to be adopted from the AtlantaHumane shelter!

 

Differences in Instagram Followers

In my own Instagram experiment, I decided to check on the top 7 posts from 3 different cat types: black cat, tabby cat and ginger cat, and see, on average, who had the most followers. These are the results:

Black Cat

• 6392 followers
• 91.k followers
• 219k followers
• 1645 followers
• 1859 followers
• 34.8k followers
• 75.8k followers

Tabby Cat

• 20.3k followers
• 105k followers
• 7494 followers
• 10.8k followers
• 1815 followers
• 9604 followers
• 17k followers

Ginger Cat

• 16.7k followers
• 43k followers
• 8421 followers
• 47.3k followers
• 18.2k followers
• 7255 followers
• 84k followers

I was very pleased to see that the black cat trending posts won with an average of 61.k followers, followed by ginger cats with 32.1k and then right behind, tabby cats with 24.6k followers. This experiment was just for fun and the next time I check, the results could be different. But it’s great to see that black cats have become very popular in social media in this society.

 

 

From top to bottom, these cats (Samson, Mercury and Raya) are all adoptable from the Best Friends Sanctuary!

Different Countries vs. Different Luck

So we all know that black cats bring about luck, sometimes good or sometimes bad. But what do the different countries think about the cats?

• In old Egypt, a black cat signifies a great goddess and was then thought to bring good luck
• In Asian countries and the UK today, owning a black cat is lucky
• In Japan, if a woman owns a black cat, it is believed she will have many suitors
• In Scotland, if a black cat appears on the doorstep, it will bring prosperity
• A black cat in England is considered lucky unless you live in Yorkshire
• In 18th – 19th century Northern Europe, a fisherman’s wife would seek out a black cat to ensure that her husband returns safely

• In Yorkshire, it’s considered lucky to own a black cat, but still unlucky if one crosses your path
• In 16th century Italy, if a black cat lays on someone’s bed, then that person will die
• In North America, it’s bad luck if a black cat crosses your path, but lucky if a white cat does the same

To find more about the good luck of cats, visit Care2: Healthy Living

To find more about the bad luck, visit BlackCat Folklore: Longtime Superstition

From top to bottom: Twitter from Humanitarians of Pet Education; Krittah from Cat’s Cradle; and Sheldon from Fancy Cats Rescue Team

Famous Black Cats

Sylvester J. Pussycat. Famously known for trying to catch Tweety Bird in the Looney Toons cartoons.

Felix the Cat. Famously known as a silent cartoon character in the early 1900s.

Salem Saberhagen. Famously known for being the cat in the series ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’.

India Bush. Famously known for being the pet of President George W. Bush

http://pawesomecats.com/2013/10/29/famous-black-cats/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_cat

JMU Quad Cats

I’m sure most of you have seen the two quad cats hanging around, but do you know the story of them?

Check out a brief history on Jimmy and Dolley here! They each have distinct personalities, such as one of them (even I can’t really tell them apart) likes to be handled, while the other prefers to remain aloof and watchful! I’ve seen some people shy away from the cats, and I hope it’s because of allergies and not because they’re black cats! So if you see one, please give it some love!

 Credit to: https://casesea.wordpress.com/tag/james-madison-university/

 

Credit to: http://www.hercampus.com/school/jmu/quad-cats-unofficial-pets-jmu

So What’s the Difference Between Cats?

Often, people believe that black cats will be mean and will never get along with humans, stemming from the negative superstition. But this is almost never the case. Black cats, being descendants of the panther, are very curious and instinctive cats. They are independent and both stubborn and friendly. Black cats enjoy the company of people and other cats. They are energetic and excitable and love to play. Black cats will quickly become a person’s best friend. But also will other cats. Each cat has their own distinct qualities and characteristics, but that doesn’t mean a person should favor one over the other. For example, a Tortoiseshell cat will appear more docile than a brown cat. Seal Point cats have ‘dog-like’ traits, often are more affectionate and vocal. So just because they’re different, doesn’t mean black cats should be treated as inferior to any other cat.

Reference: The Color of a Cat Can Determine Their Personality

 This is Trinity from the ASPCA  And this is Felix from FearlessKittyRescue

Black Cat Adoption

For a video about the adoption issues about Black Cats from the Cat Adoption & Rescue Efforts, Inc., please visit the link here.

 

For a just-for-fun video about the adoption choices of cats, please visit Cole and Marmalade’s video here.

 

Here are a few cats from the Cat’s Cradle, actually located near James Madison University, that can be adopted:

   

 

Top Left: Darleen

Top Right: Hopper

Bottom Left: Nessa

Bottom Right: Romani