I didn’t realize that this was even a thing, but I’m glad it is! Black cats get a raw deal, being thought of as unlucky and a harbinger of ill things. According to this random site, black cats are apparently considered good luck in Scotland, Britain, and Japan, so more of the world needs to get on board with that.

I will admit, it does make a certain, yet unfair, sense. Not only are cats sneaky little things, black cats are even harder to spot and so have a special air of extra sneakiness. They can appear from anywhere in the middle of the night and scare the absolute bejeezus out of a person. I can’t tell you how many times I tripped over our solid black cat in the utter blackness of a late night trip to get a glass of water. It can be quite a spooky experience.

I will admit that Tau was a harbinger of ill quite a few times, but that was because he had the kitty equivalent of severe mental problems, not because he was solid black. When he wasn’t suffering a feline mental break, he was the sweetest cat. He was obsessed with Shane and was very loving towards me as well. We’d never had a cat that we could just pick up and walk around the house with, but he loved it. Not even my little lovebug Klaus enjoys being picked up, and Bear only wants to be held for short periods of time before he lurches to get down. I could carry Tau for as long as my arms would let me.

I’m not sure why black cats are linked to witches and Halloween, but since they are, it makes sense that National Black Cat Day is in October. And honestly, if you’re going to have a magical familiar, you couldn’t do much better than a cat. They’re smart and able to fit through tiny spaces in order to spy on people. Many cats bond with humans, even though the stereotype is that they’re standoffish and not prone to mixing with people.

Black cats (and dogs!) outnumber any other color pet in shelters – because the coat color is more common than most others. I highly recommend a black cat – or a black and white tuxie cat. In my experience, they’re the smartest of the colors. Orange boys all share a single braincell, calicos are too full of sass to think too much, long haired grays are too focused on being beautiful to spare any brain power for deep thought, and so forth. Obviously I’m joking, but everything I just wrote actually does apply to my cats.

Anyway, give your black cats an extra pat today. Give all of your cats an extra pat. Give your dog a pat as well. Hell, give all your pets all the pats.

Also, tell all of your pets that I love them.

-S

• Cats
• Holidays