In the wonderful, often quirky, parallel universe of cat lovers, where cats reign supreme, there is a cat who seems to have innocently gotten caught up in all sorts of myths and superstitions and who, I personally think, has drew and still draws the short film. fish-flavored straw… Welcome to the fate of the black cat*
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I never really gave much thought to the plight of the black cat until, time and time again, I saw a high percentage of black cats going up for adoption in rescue centers across the UK. Also, during a visit some time ago to Mayhew Animal Rescue I was confronted by pairs of large, beautiful eyes gleaming from thick ink-colored coats as I walked from cabin to cabin.
As I entered the cattery, each moggie was vocalizing louder and louder, competing against each other, as if saying “No, this way.” pick me”. Ok, so I’m doing a bit of anthropomorphism here but what’s going on with the black cat and is it being overlooked in favor of brighter colorings like ginger or white moggie?
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Lindsey Quinlan, director of the cattery of Battersea Dog and Cats home believes rescue centers could have more black cats waiting for homes as they are the most common, but it seems to be a fact that black cats spend more time than other cats waiting for their forever homes and this has been stated time and again in many rescue centers here and abroad.
During a visit to Mayhew, I met Cat Welfare Coordinator Joanna Puzzo. As if she didn’t have enough on her plate, she kindly agreed to take a count of all the black cats currently waiting for homes.
Of the 37 adult cats, 13 (thank goodness she didn’t count them on a Friday) were black (35%) with 7 of 13 kittens being black (53%). I couldn’t help but notice that some of the cats had been at Mayhew for a while. I asked Joanna what she thought about the high percentage of black cats in the neighborhood.
“Generally, black cats are neglected in favor of tabbies and ginger cats. Some of the reasons given for not wanting black cats are that they are scary, they bring bad luck, or you can’t see them at night except for their bright eyes. People will see a cute black and white or black cat with the best temperament, then opt for a ginger or tabby who is a little aloof because of their appearance.
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The black cat, having borne the weight of hundreds of years of popular law,
is now facing a new setback with the modern phenomenon of the selfie. According to a recent report by Lorraine Fisher (Daily Mail), the RSPCA has blamed our self-obsessed culture for thinking the black cat is too boring to take a photo of.
I don’t know much about the in-depth history of the black cat, so I thought I’d ignore my 2 silver and white cats (I feel guilty, they’re not black now!), whose eyes try to catch my attention by peeking above. my computer, to try to understand the journey that this incredibly majestic black cat took after its domestication by humans and where it stands today in the hearts of people around the world.
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The narrative changes from place to place and characters tainted with bad luck and bad conations may well be revered in other cultures. For example, in the Middle Ages, the black cat, in Western society, caused fear. Anyone caught with a black cat would be considered a witch, with the cat believed to play a role as both demon and witchcraft.
Roger Tabor, in his book The Rise Of the Cat, believes that people vilified cats as demons due to a misunderstanding of their biology. Glowing eyes in the dark didn’t help anything! And yet, the Egyptians, idolizing the goddess Bast, represented as black, held these cats in great favor and attributed luck to them. As if the black cat wasn’t confused enough in pirate superstitions.
If a black cat walks towards a person, that person will be out of luck. If a black cat runs away from this person, they will be lucky. If a black cat gets on and off a ship, the ship is doomed to sink on its next voyage. Enough to make any cat jump into a box and close the lid!
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The Scots, being lovely people, gave our black moggie a break.
They decided that an unknown black cat suddenly appearing at the front door would bring them good luck. Eastern countries also took our coal mining friends under their wings, considering them special and carrying luck from the gods. Citizens of some countries believe that if a black cat crosses their path it will bring them bad luck, while others believe that good luck will befall them. It’s fascinating to read about all the different attributes humans have assigned to this simple but beautiful animal simply because of genetics!
He/she can bring good luck to the Egyptians, Eastern countries and Scotland, summon the devil and turn any of its owners into witches, sink ships depending on the mood of the day (although if you were a sailor and the cat decided to live on board, it would be the opposite) as well as having a definitive hand on your destiny depending on whether he chose to travel the same street as you or not!
I don’t know what Pippin (below) thinks about all this. He just knows he has to guard the trash on trash collection days!
Please go to your local rescue center and give a black cat a home. Once you look into those beautiful sparkling eyes, like liquid moons in a dark night, you will never be the same.
Thanks to:
The Mayhew: http://themayhew.org/
Battersea Cat and Dog Home: http://www.battersea.org.uk/
*NOTE: Photo of cThe information in the above article about the plight of the black cat was taken from recent online visits to various rescues. I’ve listed which rescue under the chat with a link if anyone is interested.