Pretty Zoe
Posted on by Yael Ben-Ari

Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day

Zoe Happy Watching Mommy And The Rain
Zoe Happy Watching Mommy And The Rain

It’s almost August 17th. We are happy it is Black Cat Appreciation Day again. If you don’t know it, August 17th is the day when we show our appreciation for the often overlooked Black Cat. They deserve it.

In honor of these beautiful creatures, these are brief stories of all the black cats I am proud to say have owned me.

Black cats are the best. Zoe is my little black and white tuxedo kitty, and we love our little house panther very much. I went into an animal shelter “just to look at the kitties”, and fell in love with this cute little tuxedo kitty with white scalloped paws and a perky white chin. I wanted her immediately but had to wait until my friend got back from a trip. I hoped against hope that she would still be there when we could go and look again. Little did I know that black cats sometimes don’t get adopted as quickly as others. Of course, I am always drawn to how beautiful black cats are. Lucky for us, she was still there, so we took her home and introduced her to the gang where she remains today being her own, sweet, twitty self.

The Vet Loves Jet Kitty
The Vet Loves Jet

Jet was the beautiful Stray that showed up at our door and didn’t fight with Raja as he had done quite a few times before. I wrote quite a bit about him a few posts back. We started feeding him. And what on-his-own, neglected kitty could help but adopt us. He went from being a scruffy, battle worn, flea infested stray to a beautiful, sleek, very sweet member of our household who we loved very much. I’m so happy we gave this sweet, elderly boy a good home in his retirement years after what had obviously been a hard life. He was a true diamond in the rough.

The Noble Oc
The Noble Oc

Octagon was the elderly tuxedo kitty that I hadn’t initially thought of adopting because he was aging. I had just lost a beloved dog, and was afraid of the pain of losing another pet again so soon. Of course, I fell in love with this gorgeous, polydactyl, tuxedo kitty when I went to see his much younger sister. My son, who worked for a vet at the time, thought he looked in good health; so I adopted them both. After all, how could I resist this sweet, beautiful boy? And what was I thinking of separating them? He was probably the most beautiful cat who has ever owned me. And my fears of losing him too soon were allayed when he lived eight more years to the ripe old age of 21.

I have no pictures of the first black cat I ever had. I was 5 years old when my mother took me grocery shopping in a small, rural, Missouri town. They had all black kittens to give away, and mom let me have one. I named him Blackie. Of course, my dad brought home a puppy for me the same night. We didn’t get much sleep that night as the battles ensued in the basement. The puppy had a badly scarred nose which never grew back hair, but he and Blackie were the best of buds after that. They followed each other all over. Once my dad drove the car over Blackie’s tail, and he was scared of cars after that. He freaked when we moved into town and darted out the car door when we arrived at our new home. He roamed the neighborhood for a year, but would never come to us until one day I had the idea to take the dog with me. He came to his friend, and I managed to take him home where he stayed.

I can’t imagine what my life would have been like without these beautiful small panthers. I am only happy it has been enriched by them. And I am grateful for them.

Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day!

Please appreciate them and Adopt Black Cats!

29 Replies to “Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day”

  1. I love black cats ! My very first cat was black and lived with me for 20 years ! She was such an intelligent cat, she went with me everywhere like a dog, shopping, car, visits, beach etc. Never ever had a cat like her again.
    Now I have 3 cats there were 5, one passed away 3 years ago and the other this year. The others are getting old too, 17 and 15 only my little Tuxi is 10. With us included we are a retirement home now, lol !

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    1. You are so lucky to have had your kitty for 20 years. We had Octagon until he was 21, but then he was 13 when we got him, so not quite the same. Zoe, my tuxedo kitty is now 12 and Raja, the ginger is 6. We lost Jet last year. He was the Stray who adopted us. We never knew how old he really was. The Vet said 10-12, but we thought he was a couple years older than that. I have loved all my kitties too.
      Yael

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  3. Wonderful post celebrating all the black kitties you have been blessed with over the years. I have 3 now and our beloved Spooky went to The Bridge in April 2016

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    1. Thanks and thanks for coming by. Since you have black cats as well, I’m sure we can agree that they are wonderful. I just wish more people knew this.
      Yael

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  4. Though we love black panfurs at our house, we currently have none among Kitties Blue. Mom’s very first here cat, was black cat, Thelma. We also had adorable, wanderer Twinkle. We miss them both oodles. We enjoyed hearing about your kitties. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo and Cooper Murphy

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    1. Thank you, and thanks for coming by. I think we love our kitties whatever color they are. My weak spots are black kitties and polydactyl kitties, though.
      Yael

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  5. Black cats will be a part of my life furrever! When we got Angel and Chuck as kittens, we named him Chocolate because his fur was a rich, dark brown. Well, he grew up into a sleek black housepanther, so ‘Chuck’ became his name. We also have Sweetie, an ‘O’ Cat, who is black with sprinkles of white all over her body. She first appeared in 2009, and heavily pregnant. I managed to TNR her in 2010, and she’s been living in the shelter we built for her since then. Angel is definitely more white than black…cow colored…and Patty O’Malley is a brown tabby.

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  6. Happy Natl Black Cat Appreciation Day to you, Miss Yael. Thanks so much for being a momma to lil’ panthers over the years! Mom, like you, has always found chats noirs so beautiful. I am her first, but she said she had always wanted one. My Dad had one named Diablo when he was a teenager. He was sleek & lengthy & could open doors by stretching up to the door handles & turning them. Purrs.

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    1. I agree with you. They are beautiful and deserve the love too. I had been totally unaware of this stigma, because the black ones were always some of the first to draw me, and because they are so beautiful.
      Yael

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    1. Funny my reply went into the air somewhere. I have had a tortie, Typo, as well, and really loved her. I had adopted her with her older tuxedo kitty, Octagon. My sister had a tortie with the split color face, that really had a cool look.
      Yael

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  11. Thank you for sharing about the black cats you’ve had in your life, Yael. We love black cats, too. Good thing, because both Gracie and Zoe are housepanthers. Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day!

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  12. Your black cats are beautiful! I think there is something very classy about black fur. It is sad that black cats get overlooked so much in shelters. They are wonderful kitties! Both of my parents have had black cats and I really loved those cats. 🙂

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    1. Thank you and thanks for visiting us. I think they look very classy, too. Black cats are usually the first ones that catch my eye when I go into an adoption center.
      Yael

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  13. Black cats are very special. We have three black cats in our feral family and we love them to bits! Thanks for joining the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!

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  15. Haven’t you had some beauties in your life! It is no wonder black cats keep finding their way to you!
    I had a Blackie many years ago too. Ours was left behind by a roommate who moved out (I had pretty much adopted him before that even happened anyway). Unfortunately we didn’t have him for too long, but he was a sweet guy and we enjoyed him while we did.

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