Why Black Cats are the Best

Ever since high school, me and black (male) cats have had a thing goin' on. I say that tongue-in-cheek, but it is true. When I was around 14 years old, I was walking home from school and a very cute, long-haired black cat followed me home. I tried discouraging him (no--really) but to no avail. We kept him for a couple of weeks, but my mother didn't really like him and that was that. It was, however, the beginning of a beautiful friendship between myself and these dark beauties.

When I went away to college, I lived at first in an apartment complex several miles from the commuter college. A neighbor's black cat took a shining to me, and me to him. I named him "Poochka" since I didn't know his name, and he wound up spending more time with me than with his owner. She didn't mind, but when I found out she was moving, I asked if I could have him. No, she said, she wanted him. Oh, darn. My roommate, seeing that I missed him, bought me a cat from a pet store. She was a black and white semi-longhair, and we bonded, no problem--even though she wasn't a black male!

I was working part-time at a veterinary practice while I was in school, and a black cat was to be put to sleep simply for having cystitis. Well, I took him home. We became fast freinds, but my new landlord didn't want us having cats, so I found him a good home (he relaxed this rule later in my tenancy, albeit unofficially).

For a few years, I was black-cat free. Oh, I had pet cats, plenty of them. But no more black ones fell into my lap until I found the litter that presently live with J. and me. As you have probably surmised, Black Bear is my cat. He's friendly to everyone, and the mellowest guy you'll ever meet. But as J. says, "If you're around, he doesn't care about anybody else." I wouldn't say out loud that he's my favorite, but there is no doubt that there is a special bond between us.

J. and I have decided that we will always have at least one black cat around from now on. If we actually get to pick the next passel of cats instead of them dropping from the sky, we've decided on one black one, a calico, a white cat, another marmalade cat....oops! Looks like I'm getting carried away! Well, I can't help it. After all, cats are the best!

Happy Halloween! Remember to keep all cats indoors, just in case.
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Cats and Witchcraft

For centuries, cats have been associated with witches. Our modern minds recognize that the days of truly believing in cats and women as instruments of the devil are long gone, representing days of ignorance and cruelty at which we can only shake our heads. At this time of year, such ideas are made fun of, and we all have a good laugh as we dress up in our black hats, grab our stuffed "familiar" and skip off to another Halloween party.

People really did believe such things at one time, though. It makes one wonder how cats and women became the symbol of satanic deeds--particularly in this country, where our forebears came to be free of such things as repression, shadowy pasts and religious restrictions.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, cats were persecuted for centuries after being previously deified by the ancient Egyptians. Can you think of another group similarly misused? Women! Desmond Morris makes the suggestion in Catlore that old "crones", never married due to their ugliness or whatever, became fringe dwellers of various towns and villages. Cats became their companions, as they were not especially welcome, either. If anyone picked on their pets, these women would shout curses and, when inevitably something happened to one of these miscreants, these "witches" and their "familiars" would be blamed.

I would expound a bit more on this idea. Not only old crones get banished from repressive societies. Any woman not married, not wanting to marry, having an independent streak, acting more intelligent than the menfolk, etc. would be fair game for the "witch" moniker. And smart, independent women would, naturally, have pet cats! People love to scapegoat others, particularly those who have no defenses. If one's crops don't flourish, don't blame yourself, or even the weather--blame the gal down the street who acts so high and mighty. We've all heard about the Salem Witch Trials, where young girls were brainwashed into accusing unpopular townspeople of witchcraft. Unfortunately, this is an unsavory side of human nature that persists to this day, if not exactly in this format.

Well, we've come a long way, baby. Luckily, we humans have come full circle and now, once more, appreciate cats for the beautiful, intelligent loving companion animals that they are. Now, if we could just raise the perceived value of all women do a few more notches...

Tomorrow: Black cats redux!
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Do Completely Black Cats Exist Anymore?

Think about it. When have you ever seen an all-black cat? I mean a cat without a single white hair. Unless you frequent cat shows, I'll bet you've never seen one. The reason for this (being an aficionado of black cats, I noticed this a long time ago), is because of humans and their ridiculous belief in sorcery and the supernatural.

I've refreshed my memory with some details of this dark time in feline history by cracking open my copy of Desmond Morris' Catlore. According to Morris, some of ancient Egypt's sacred cats were "catnapped" by the Phoenicians, who are credited with developing the all-black type. These cats were shopped around the Mediterranean and Europe, where the black cat became very popular, possibly because their dark forms made them nearly invisible at night and therefore more successful ratters and mousers.

Alas, Medieval times really were the "dark ages" for cats. Somehow, black cats, once so well-loved, were now associated with the devil. Supposedly, only completely black cats were considered sorcerer's apprentices and disposed of, mainly by the Christians. Hence, unnatural selection favored those with some white in their coats.

By the 1600s, these beliefs were less firmly held. Black cats now started to become persecuted for the almost opposite reason: It was now believed that certain of their body parts were almost magical cures for what ailed a person. Morris quotes one Edward Topsel, who wrote that only the head of a black cat "which hath not a spot of another colour in it" would cure eye ailments. I won't detail the means by which the poor cat's head was prepared for this disgusting venture!

Nowadays, you're only apt to see completely black cats that are the product of human intervention. David Alderton, in his cat-breed book Cats, describes many fur colors. When speaking of "black", it is pointed out that there should be "no trace of white hairs". In the description of the black British Shorthair, it says that these cats should not be allowed to lie in the sun as it may bleach their coat a bit. Yeesh!

The only breed that is consistently all-black and only black is the Bombay. Actually, it was bred to resemble a smaller version of the black leopard of India, hence the name. This breed is quite new, created in 1958 by Nikki Horner who bred a Burmese and an American Shorthair. The British have their own version, substituting the British Shorthair for its American cousin. According to Alderton, these cats are very friendly and tolerate kids and dogs quite well. Oh, and of course, they are beautiful! But then, what cat isn't?

Stay tuned this week for more on witchcraft, sorcery and black cats!
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