Today is Black Cat Appreciation Day!
Today is Black Cat Appreciation Day. Started by Wayne Morris in 2011 as a way to honor his deceased sister and the bond she shared with her beloved black cat, Sinbad, as well as to pay tribute to black cats in general, the celebration caught on quickly and is now widely observed. Wayne’s “Black Cat Appreciation Page” boasts over 278,600 fans and is growing daily (go, like, share!).
Although thought to be good luck in many cultures, black cats are not regarded as lucky in America, and black cats (and dogs) often languish in shelters for weeks before they are adopted; if they are adopted. Shelters all across the states hope that by dedicating a day to highlight black kitties and their plight, adoption rates will go up.
Rather than listing and debunking all the silly myths that have grown up around our ebony feline friends, here are some fascinating facts instead.
Black cats get their color from melanism, a color mutation caused by the abundance of a dark-colored pigment called melanin. Melanism is the opposite of albinism, and scientists believe is has surfaced independently several times in the cat family. So far, it has been documented in 11 of the 36 wild cat species, and “black panthers” are actually melanistic jaguars, leopards or jaguarondis.
Some cats are a lovely pure obsidian, but others are tabbies in disguise. Put these cats in bright sunlight and you might see ghostly tabby stripes on the tail or legs, or the classic “M” pattern on the head. Bright sunlight will also reveal spots on a black jaguar and rosettes on a black leopard. If you can get close enough, that is!
In addition to raven fur, high levels of melanin in the pigment of cats produces beautiful yellow irises, so black cats often have gorgeous copper eyes.
Sable-colored kitties can be male or female, but there are more of the former.
Solid black is a recognized color option in 22 cat breeds registered by the US-based Cat Fanciers’ Association. The beautiful and intelligent Bombay, however, is the only cat that is always black. Here’s a short but informative video on these elegant felines…
Cats101: The Bombay
Melanin production is dependent upon tyrosine, an amino acid that is conditionally essential for cats (although nonessential for other species), and tyrosine deficiency commonly results in the fur of black cats turning reddish-brown. The effect can be reversed by feeding these cats diets that contain increased concentrations of tyrosine, such as those high in animal-sourced proteins.
Interestingly, recent research by the National Institutes of Health indicates that black cats may be more resistant to pathogens and illnesses such as feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). This has fascinating implications for the treatment of both FIV and HIV.
Black cats are as graceful and amazing, as loving, mischievous and varied in their personalities as any other cat. And they deserve happy forever homes! In honor of Black Cat Appreciation Day, go visit your local animal shelter and add a coal-colored kitty to your family today!
And if your home is or has ever been graced by the soft sooty paws of a black cat, please share their stories in the comments below, or pop over to CatCentric’s Facebook page, post their pics and tell us why each one is special to you!
If you enjoyed this post or found it informative, please “Like” it, “Tweet” it, or share it using any of the buttons below. And don’t forget to check out our FB page, join the discussions in our awesome FB group and follow us on Twitter!
Our Ming Loy and her sister (originally named Neuro and Logic by the vet staff) were thrown away, literally. They were tied up in a plastic bag and thrown away as garbage. It was a garbageman that rescued them. Taken to the county shelter, we got a phone call. “You have one hour to come get them, there’s something wrong with them. ” Yeah. It’s called cerebellar hypoplasia. It means the motor skills portion of the brain is scarred. This usually happens when mom has panleuk during the pregnancy. It is not a degenerative disease, and other than being uncoordinated, usually with slightly stiff legs and a wobbly head when excited (and not being able to jump), there is nothing wrong with a CH kitty. As FIV+ kitties seem to be universally sweet, I think CH kitties seem to share the trait of being smart little imps, LOL! Mingle is 11 this year.
My first black cat was a cat we called Mama Yak.
She was pregnant when I got her and I kept one of her black kittens that had no tail. I named her kitten Sluggo.
Sometime later I rescued a 12 yoear old black cat we nemed Lucky. I had him fixed, got rid of his fleas and he loved living as an indoor cat after 12 years on the street. His head always sat a bit sideways because he had been hit by a car but he lived to be 18. He was such a sweet guy and so happy to have a home.
Now I have Dre, I fostered him and his sisters, Steffie and Anna, we fell in love with him and he fit in so well with our other boys that he had to stay. I do not have any pictures of Lucky, aka Yak Yak, called that because of the funny meow he had, or of Dre that I could post to here.
This is Hershey, one of the resident cats at my book store. She was brought into us as a small kitten in 2012 by a customer who found her but was unable to care for her. She had been trapped in the engine of a van for four chilly and rainy days, she was thin, weak and sick; she had so much dried snot stuck to her face that all the hair came off her snout during her bath. She was brown then but we knew she would turn black with her adult fur. After three weeks of antibiotics and eating anything that did not eat her first she was ready for adoption, but no one seemed to want her. We were at a loss; she was sweet, friendly and now looking like a cute 12 week old kitten. We promoted her for months, the Humane Society even helped but no takers. So we kept her as she was fast becoming BFF’s with the resident cat Cloud, and we were getting attached to those pale green eyes, white whiskers, and croaky little meow that was damaged by the upper respiratory infection.
Here is our Tuxedo. He was born in a feral colony but decided he wanted a home, and set about finding one. This involved him showing up at my Daughter’s home one cold and wet January afternoon. When he insisted on coming inside she told him he would need a bath. Being wet and dirty he did not seem to mind the warm water too much. Next he proceeded with attaching himself to my Mother, and after about two months he managed to convince her that life was not complete without him. After a few trial weekend visits he made it very clear he considered himself at home. Now three and a half years later he is a full grown 18 pound, very fluffy Norwegian Forest Cat. As it happens he had more foresight that he could ever have imagined, for if not finding a home with us he surely would have died a horrible and painful death. In the March following this post we discovered he had a mass on his left hind leg just a above the knee. It was Fibrosarcoma which necessitated the total amputation of the leg. He is now doing great and you would almost not know he ever had four legs.
I’ve had the pleasure of having two all black cats grace my home. My first black cat, Lucy, lived until she was 21 years old and the only kitty I lost to kidney disease. I loved have a “grandma” kitty in my home. As she aged she took on a lot of gray, she had an eye pigment; her doctor said she could still see to get around but she shouldn’t drive anymore…her hearing was fading somewhat, but her “motor” still strong! She had birthday parties for her 15th, 20th and 21st birthdays with decorated ice cream cakes from dairy queen and lots of guests for the 15th and 20th birthdays…lots of presents too!
My other black kitty, Ebony, was semi-long haired with the look of a black panther from the time he was a kitten from a feral environment. After his first day or two, he manage to bite me as I was checking or fleas. He was the sweetest, most loving kitty, with the loudest purr while kneading. He had the most beautiful copper eyes. I find it so difficult to imagine why back cats are not the first to be adopted…black IS beautiful!
Ruger was abandoned in our neighborhood. He was much too friendly to be the offspring of one of the ferals in the neighborhood, so we think he was abandoned because he may have been the only black kitten in a litter. That was five years ago and their stupidity was my gain. He is the most lovable, large, muscular16 pound house panther, that I could ever want. He is the best. I never thought one way or another about black cats, never believed in the whole bad luck or evil thing. I was lucky he came into my life.
I’ve read the black cats are considered good luck in Japan. I wonder if the Western witch hunt obsession going back hundreds of years is to blame … then again, people at that time also believed the world was flat and most people recognize that to be false today!