I’ve loved black cats all my life. The first cats who were officially mine were a pair of black twin boys named Castor and Pollux. Then there was Maddy-Gold, my “accidental rehab.” After that came Sin├®ad and Siouxsie, who inspired me to start writing my blog, Paws and Effect. Later on I adopted Dahlia and Belladonna, also felines of the ebony persuasion.
Two of the three cats who grace my home are black: Siouxsie, now almost 17, and Bella. (The other cat, my big tabby Thomas, doesn’t seem to mind having a harem of house panthers.)
Even when I was a kid, I never understood the ridiculous superstitions about black cats. Bad luck if one crosses your path? Minions of the devil? Seriously? People, this is the 21st century. Can we please get over it?
In the immortal words of Groucho Marx, “A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere.”
As my blogging career continued and I became more and more cat-obsessed, I learned about statistics suggesting that black cats are about half as likely to get adopted as cats of other colors. Some of the reasons cited were that “they don’t photograph well, so they’re hard to advertise” and “they’re so dark, people can’t see them in their cages.” That may be part of it, but I think a larger part is the hangover from this medieval belief that black cats are bad news.
So, when I see a cartoon like the one below, which I found on the Nothing but Kitty CATS Facebook page, I get a tear in my eye. Well, OK, more than one tear.
Yep, I am that mushy.
I hate to see any cats stay in shelters for a weeks, months, or even years — or be killed after they run out of time — and it breaks my heart to think that so many cats are passed over simply because they’re black.
Sure, it’s hard to photograph black cats when compared to felines of other colors. But holy bazzoli, people! We’ve got digital cameras now! You can just keep on clicking away and you’re bound to get at least one or two good shots. I’m constantly taking photos of my black cats. They’re such beautiful and elegant creatures, and if there’s anything I can do that even remotely conveys the beauty of the sunlight shimmering on their ebony coats, or the subtle highlights and shadows of their gorgeous faces, I’m darn well gonna do it!
Black cats also lend themselves very well to artistic photographs. I love to experiment with light and dark, and black cats are the perfect subjects for this kind of study. I’m not a professional photographer, but I’m not afraid to try!
Black cats can be as goofy and dopey as any other cats, and being able to capture them in the midst of flagrant silliness could make even the grumpiest person smile.
Yes, black cats really are like all other cats, and we black-cat lovers owe it to their kin languishing in shelters or on the streets to share photos and stories of their perfectly ordinary adventures. Please, plaster the Internet with photos of your gorgeous house panthers. Share your poems, blog posts, stories, and whatever else you can think of, and get the word out about how awesome black cats are. Do your part to help me stop weeping over cartoons!
Is suddenly purring there.”
By the way, while messing around on the Internet — er, I mean, doing research for this article — I found some great tips for amateur and professional photographers about how to take good pictures of black cats.
Do you believe black cats get a bad rap? Let’s talk in the comments!
