Black Cats

[Chamomile]

Black cats get such a bad name for being evil and dark. But they're amesome!

They're so sleek and mysterious looking. And when you put [url="http://www.softpaws.com/"]Soft Paws[/url] on their nails, or bright-colored colors on them, it looks really pertty!

Sadly, adoption rates for black cats are dismal - the lowest of all colors of cats. They also have the highest euthanasia rate of cats at shelters

Here are [url="http://www.itsaboutcats.rescuegroups.org/info/display?PageID=2175"]10 reasons to adopt a black cat[/url]. You need one! One needs you!



says, "I wish I was black instead of orange!"

[Cherie]

I love black cats. If I ever got a cat, I would make sure he or she was black.

If anything, it would make people scared of me, since there's so much prejudice against black cats. They'd think, "Oh my, she has a black cat! We better be really nice to her!"

[Chamomile]

[quote name='CherieMadame' timestamp='1296314587' post='2206346']
I love black cats. If I ever got a cat, I would make sure he or she was black.

If anything, it would make people scared of me, since there's so much prejudice against black cats. They'd think, "Oh my, she has a black cat! We better be really nice to her!"


[/quote]

Yeah, one reason I'd get a pit bull if I could...

But back to the topic at hand. Black cats = amesome!

[img]http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/funny-pictures-a-little-black-cat-goes-with-everything.jpg[/img]

[M.C. Macabees]

I have a friend who thinks all cats are evil......she doesn't know that i have a cat. i'm pretty sure that if she did know, she would stop talking to me.

[Cherie]

[quote name='M.C. Macabees' timestamp='1296315995' post='2206356']
I have a friend who thinks all cats are evil......she doesn't know that i have a cat. i'm pretty sure that if she did know, she would stop talking to me.
[/quote]



I admit I'm a dog person usually, but cats aren't evil. Spiders, maybe; ticks, too - but not cats!

[Sarah147]

I think dogs are a w esome, but I've never had a breed that fit my personality and physical level. I love that people can bring them on hikes, take them in the car, play frisbee, etc. But they are very high maintainance.

I'm more of a cat person. The cat I had would snuggle in bed with me; purr; looooooved to cuddle and hug; he'd bring me toys in his mouth; he'd cry like a baby for me; he was intelligent and super affectionate/loving.

Edited January 29, 2011 by JoyfulLife

[Chamomile]

[quote name='JoyfulLife' timestamp='1296317868' post='2206364']
I'm more of a cat person. The cat I had would snuggle in bed with me; purr; looooooved to cuddle and hug; he'd bring me toys in his mouth; he'd cry like a baby for me; he was intelligent and super affectionate/loving.
[/quote]

!!!

Yeah, I love dogs, too. But if I had to choose, I would always choose cats. They just fit my personality more. Purring is way better than barking, too.

[Sarah147]

[quote name='Chamomile' timestamp='1296318655' post='2206369']
!!!

Yeah, I love dogs, too. But if I had to choose, I would always choose cats. They just fit my personality more. Purring is way better than barking, too.
[/quote]


He'd also follow me around the house and somewhat outdoors. He'd join me when I ate dinner, and he'd gently, ever so slickly slide his arm over to my arm, and hold his paw on my hand, hoping for some food! He had cream fur and blue eyes to die for! He loved holding his paw in my hand when we cuddled in bed. When he needed to go out of the bedroom in the summer, and the door had to be opened due to A/C, he'd meow to come in and out, and he'd plop out on the floor and shove his arms, ever so cutely under the door. I miss him. He was the best animal I ever had.

[Chamomile]

[quote name='JoyfulLife' timestamp='1296319192' post='2206372']
He'd also follow me around the house and somewhat outdoors. He'd join me when I ate dinner, and he'd gently, ever so slickly slide his arm over to my arm, and hold his paw on my hand, hoping for some food! He had cream fur and blue eyes to die for! He loved holding his paw in my hand when we cuddled in bed. When he needed to go out of the bedroom in the summer, and the door had to be opened due to A/C, he'd meow to come in and out, and he'd plop out on the floor and shove his arms, ever so cutely under the door. I miss him. He was the best animal I ever had.
[/quote]



He sounds really special. I'm sure you gave him an amesome life.

Edited January 29, 2011 by Chamomile

[Chamomile]

[quote name='Chamomile' timestamp='1296314305' post='2206344']
And when you put [url="http://www.softpaws.com/"]Soft Paws[/url] on their nails, or bright-colored colors on them, it looks really pertty!
[/quote]

By colors, I meant collars. You shouldn't just be painting your cats.

[Sarah147]

[quote name='Chamomile' timestamp='1296331838' post='2206449']


He sounds really special. I'm sure you gave him an amesome life.
[/quote]


He sure was. I hope he had an a w esome life; I tried to give him the most attention I could, and boy was he a friend to me. It was hard in the end when he got sick and was dying; there's always the "could I have done this or that differently/better." But in the end, it's something you just have to accept and leave to God. I hate sickness and death; dealing with it is sooooo hard.

[elizabeth09]

http://www.great-pictures-of-cats.com/image-files/black-cats-1.jpg

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

Of course black cats aren't evil.

For 10 years I had a cat who was mostly black, and she was wonderful. She was my soul mate. I know that sounds corny, but that is the only way to describe our relationship. It doesn't happen with every animal, but every once in awhile an animal friend comes along who touches your heart in a special way.

Bitty (and she was very small), died suddenly 4 years ago of stomach cancer. There wasn't really anything I could do, and the cancer was growing so fast that even if I had caught it earlier it would have made no difference. She was otherwise very healthy. At her annual vet visit 6 months before, my vet said that Bitty could easily live 20 years. I didn't have enough time to say good-bye, and I could tell Bitty didn't want to say good-bye to me. Cats have an incredible will to live, and even in Bitty's last days, she didn't want to die. I told her many times that if she needed to die I would be okay. Her litter mate Leo and I would be sad, but we'd take care of each other. But, she wouldn't die on her own, even though in the last day or two of her life she was obviously in pain.

In her last days, Bitty didn't want me to leave her. She didn't want to be touched, but I sat in bed with her all day, reading a book, and talking to her very very quietly, telling her how wonderful she was and what she meant to me. She would follow me if I so much as went to the bathroom. Finally, the day arrived that, even though Bitty was not ready to die, I couldn't in good conscience let her live when she was in so much pain. The vet who had rescued her at 2 weeks old, and and gotten up every two hours to feed Bitty and her litter mates came to my house. We put Bitty to sleep lying on my bed, where she had always felt comfortable and safe. Just by chance, I had a box from Tiffany's. Bitty was so small that, after she was gone, I put her in the box, wrapped in one of my old flowered nightgowns, because she was my "treasure." Bitty's ashes now sit on a shelf in my living room.

I was inconsolable when Bitty died. I couldn't think about her without crying for almost two months. And, even now, as I write about her, my eyes are tearing up. She was a very special little black cat.

However, Bitty's death meant that I could give life to another very special little black cat. I had been looking for a small cat, but the fact that she is also black was not planned. I wanted a rescue cat, and not a kitten. I had sent emails around to some places in Chicago and I got an email back that said, "We've been waiting for you for five months."

Slinky was two, and due to unfortunate circumstances, not her temperament, she had lived in 4 or 5 homes in her two years of life. She'd also had three names, so I decided to keep the name Slinky, although it isn't my favorite. Her latest placement was in a home in Indiana, where she almost immediately started vomiting. The vet of the new owners couldn't figure out the problem, and the new owners were going to have Slinky euthanized. Thankfully, they called the owner in Chicago who had placed Slinky, and the Chicago owner told them, "Don't do anything." She immediately got in the car and drove two hours to Indiana to bring Slinky home. The vet of the owner in Chicago figured out it was some kind of allergy, but never solved the vomiting problem, although they got it under control. The owner in Chicago adored Slinky, but it was not the right home for her. Somewhere, in one of her many homes, Slinky had developed an intense fear of dogs and children. So, she needed a quiet home, with no chance of dogs or children, and an owner who would adopt an animal with a chronic vomiting problem. Lots of people were interested in adopting Slinky, but none of them were the right homes for her.

Anyone who has a pet suffering from stomach cancer has had to deal with a LOT of vomiting. I have no children, no dogs, and a vet who is expert at chronic diseases and allergies. The first time Slinky had a vomiting problem, I took her into my vet. My vet diagnosed the cause of the vomiting in about 5 minutes, as well as an effective treatment. I've had Slinky for about 4 years now and she hasn't vomited (except for the occasional hairball) in more than three years.

Slinky is a wonderful, affectionate, cuddly little black cat. In fact, she is the most good-natured cat I have ever met. I adore her--she has a beautiful soul--but for whatever reason, she is not a "soul mate." My vet understood perfectly. She said that animals who are soul mates just happen along once in awhile. But she believes, as I believe about people, too, that there is not just one animal (or person) who is our soul mate.

I now have two cats. Leo, who was Bitty's litter mate, is 14 now. Lately he has developed hyperthyroidism, and I have been having to hand feed him 5 or 6 times a day. But, I believe that when you adopt an animal, it's for better or worse, till death do you part and Leo is a wonderful cat. He is responding well to his medication, the vet is pleased with the weight he has gained so far, and he is starting to eat on his own. The prognosis is good, and Leo is aging well otherwise, so I hope to have him with me for awhile.

Adopting chronically ill cats is a way for me to make a tiny difference to the world, because I'm chronically ill, too, and feel very useless much of the time. Since God watches over the birds of the air, I believe he also watches over other animals. If I were healthy, I would adopt more chronically ill animals, but all I can do is what I can do.

So, I have now had TWO black cats, both of them very special, each in her own way.

To those who believe black cats are evil, I say, "Phui."

Edited January 29, 2011 by IgnatiusofLoyola

[Sarah147]

[cmotherofpirl]

We seem to have a permanent strain of black cats in the neighborhood, probably do the gigantic black tom who sits in my tree. I currently have almost black longhair living on my porch.