Sydney
Tis the Season: The Strange Duality for Black Cats
-Helen Morrison, President, Board of Directors
Black cats are good luck; Black cats are bad luck.
Black cats are sweet; Black cats are scary.
Because it is October, and Halloween is approaching, black cats have started appearing, on cards and napkins, in store decorations, or in lawn decorations, looking scary.. Just out of curiosity, I typed into my search engine “Why are black cats the last chosen for adoption?” All sorts of articles and videos came up. Two were very interesting and are cited below. But several bits of information struck me.
Black cats are often unusually sweet and mild. Many of the breeds each have a black version…the Domestic Shorthair, American exotics, Maine Coons. Perhaps the best known is the Bombay, bred to look like a mini-panther. Black cats were worshiped as gods in ancient Egypt and harming them could mean the death penalty. Two black cats of note, Blackie and Tomassa, inherited incredible amounts of money from their owners’ wills. Though some in America see them as bad luck, whether lightly or in all seriousness, in some cultures they are seen as good luck. Apparently, the gene that codes for black has two interesting aspects: it is dominant and it also codes for a stronger immune system. When that combines with the dominant gene of striped in patterns, a cat can be black with underlying stripes. In several of my black cats, you can see stripes delicately under the black.
The saddest part is that, all too often, black cats are seen as bad luck and are often the last to be adopted out from Shelters. My first direct experience of that was early on in my shelter adoption life, people saying things like, “oh, I couldn’t adopt a black cat”, or “on, no, not a black cat” when I would show them one of our many sweet black cats. My heart sank..
And, as we know, there are folks out there that mean harm to black cats. We have tended to be very careful about adopting out black cats in October, in the season of Halloween.
I personally have several black cats, who are so unique and sweet and wonderful in their own right. I think I will honor my big, gorgeous Sydney. He is a mini-panther….sleek, solid, and elegant. And he is about as loving and friendly as anyone could wish. And here are the black cats of a few of my friends and co-volunteers.
-Helen Morrison, President, Board of Directors
Black cats are good luck; Black cats are bad luck.
Black cats are sweet; Black cats are scary.
Because it is October, and Halloween is approaching, black cats have started appearing, on cards and napkins, in store decorations, or in lawn decorations, looking scary.. Just out of curiosity, I typed into my search engine “Why are black cats the last chosen for adoption?” All sorts of articles and videos came up. Two were very interesting and are cited below. But several bits of information struck me.
Black cats are often unusually sweet and mild. Many of the breeds each have a black version…the Domestic Shorthair, American exotics, Maine Coons. Perhaps the best known is the Bombay, bred to look like a mini-panther. Black cats were worshiped as gods in ancient Egypt and harming them could mean the death penalty. Two black cats of note, Blackie and Tomassa, inherited incredible amounts of money from their owners’ wills. Though some in America see them as bad luck, whether lightly or in all seriousness, in some cultures they are seen as good luck. Apparently, the gene that codes for black has two interesting aspects: it is dominant and it also codes for a stronger immune system. When that combines with the dominant gene of striped in patterns, a cat can be black with underlying stripes. In several of my black cats, you can see stripes delicately under the black.
The saddest part is that, all too often, black cats are seen as bad luck and are often the last to be adopted out from Shelters. My first direct experience of that was early on in my shelter adoption life, people saying things like, “oh, I couldn’t adopt a black cat”, or “on, no, not a black cat” when I would show them one of our many sweet black cats. My heart sank..
And, as we know, there are folks out there that mean harm to black cats. We have tended to be very careful about adopting out black cats in October, in the season of Halloween.
I personally have several black cats, who are so unique and sweet and wonderful in their own right. I think I will honor my big, gorgeous Sydney. He is a mini-panther….sleek, solid, and elegant. And he is about as loving and friendly as anyone could wish. And here are the black cats of a few of my friends and co-volunteers.
Missy - Pat B.
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Khan - recently adopted by Martha
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Sage - Christine F.
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Aidyn - Julia P.
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Bagheera - Brooke S.
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Jimmy, Dilly, and Telly - Dee M.
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I don’t get it, really….how people could be averse to black cats, see them as bad luck or even evil. Black cats are as deserving as any cats for the best, most loving homes. And they will fill your home with love, laughter, and beauty.
Source: Cole & Marmalade Facebook
Check out the following websites and enjoy:
https://cats.com/black-cats-facts
15 Facts about Black Cats Video