Black Cat Appreciation Day

Today is Black Cat Appreciation Day and it’s a day that was created to help dispel some of the misconceived beliefs and ridiculous prejudices about black cats. Because of the superstitions and fears surrounding these beautiful animals, black cats are more likely to be abused, put to sleep or have to wait a long time to be adopted from shelters. In honor of this day, I thought I would appreciate the black cats that I have had the honor and privilege to have as pets.

In my early years, my family lived in Poughkeepsie, New York, and I had a shorthair black cat named Froux Froux (pronounced Fru Fru). Froux Froux moved with us down to Beaumont, Texas and lived for many more years.

I can recall always being drawn to black cats. Every Halloween I wanted to be a witch so my pet black cat could be my familiar, although at the time I didn’t know that’s what a witch’s cat was called. Froux Froux served me well. Many years later my daughter would don witch’s wear and have her own familiar.  After Froux Froux passed, life would go on with other cats, but it would be many years before another black cat would cross my path.

In an earlier blog, Tipper the Wandering and Inspirational and Possibly Psychic Cat, I introduced you to Tipper. He was a stray that a friend needed to find a home for. Already owning two cats, I offered to help “find a home” for this two-month-old kitten. Of course I was only kidding myself and my friend. As soon as I saw him I knew this little flash of black fur would become my third child. I named him Tipper because of the white markings on his feet and on the tip of his tail. Tipper was with me almost 15 years. He lived an adventurous life – surviving being lost from home for 80 days to enduring the trauma of Hurricane Katrina. Sadly, he succumbed to cancer in 2012.

Tipper’s death devastated my seven-year-old daughter, Maddy. I wanted her to have her very own kitten, NOT, to replace Tipper, but to fulfill the need to have a cat in her life. It’s just my opinion, but getting another pet after the death of a pet, isn’t replacing the pet, but bringing another pet into the home to love, and to be loved by, especially one who may be on the last of their nine lives.

Tipper died in early October. My daughter and I share the same birthday at the end of November. I had decided that during the Thanksgiving break we’d go to the shelter and adopt a kitten as an early birthday present and have that time off from school and work to bond with our new furry friend.

But things don’t always work out the way you plan them.

In early November, on a Friday afternoon, I just happened to find out that the next day they were waiving the adoption fees at the local Humane Society. It seemed like fate was letting me know that we shouldn’t wait until Thanksgiving to adopt a pet. So, the next day, after Maddy had a doubleheader soccer game (in which she scored twice), we dashed off to the Humane Society. I didn’t even tell her where we were going or let her change out of her uniform. She didn’t even realize where we were until we walked inside and she caught sight of the animals.

I wanted to get a kitten so we went to find the kitten room. On the way we passed this adult black cat sitting in an upper berth enclosure who tried to get our attention. I have to be honest, I don’t like shelters. I don’t like seeing homeless animals in glass enclosures or cages waiting to find someone to love. It breaks my heart. So I looked at this adult cat but didn’t look at the cage. Off we went to find the kittens.

In the kitten room there were quite a few kittens to choose from. Another confession, I wasn’t necessarily looking for a black kitten. Actually, Maddy wanted a chocolate Siamese kitten. She was very into the movie That Darn Cat (the original version), which is one of my favorite movies. There wasn’t a Siamese kitten but there was a two-month old black kitten. We were both smitten. As we were following a staff member to the paperwork area, we had to pass by that same adult black cat we’d seen earlier. Before I knew what had happened, I was telling the worker, “And I also want that cat too.”

We weren’t able to bring home black kitty that day because she had to first be neutered. But adult kitty could come home with us. Her name was Kiki and she was five years old and was very affectionate. I was told she had been abandoned by her owner and had been there for some time. We happily left with one black cat and a few days later we’d be able to pick up our black kitten. I didn’t intend to adopt two cats, but I just couldn’t leave that sweet girl there.

Kiki adjusted well to her new life. Once we picked up black kitty, however, the two had to be separated since black kitty just had surgery. That was a little complicated but we made it work. Eventually the two were able to coexist and our household was complete. Maddy named her kitten D.C. for yes, Darn Cat. And believe me – this cat has lived up to her name on so many levels.

Now, as any cat owner knows, cats are fickle creatures. They fuss and fight and hiss and purr. Kiki and D.C. were no exception. These cats get along like peas and carrots one minute and then the next they’re fighting like fire and gasoline. Sometimes I think they do that just to torment us. But through it all, I’ll take the fighting over not having them at all.

And over time feline ownership in our home has shifted. Kiki has taken a fancy to Maddy and D.C. has become my shadow. I can’t sit down anywhere without her sitting on me. Kiki is Maddy’s constant companion. But no matter the switch, we are both blessed to have these cats in our lives.

So, if you’ve been wanting to adopt a cat or kitten, there is no time like the present. And don’t bypass the black ones. They are just as deserving as other cats of a loving home and I must say there’s nothing quite like the experience of being owned by a small black panther.

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Mimi Bosarge has always wanted to be a writer. Writing is in her blood as her grandfather was the author of several non-fiction books and even won a Pulitzer Prize for his editorial writings on the civil rights movement in the 1960s. She’s written short stories, wining or placing in a few local contests.  She was also a freelance newspaper correspondent for her local newspaper, The Mississippi Press, which ironically is the same newspaper (though the name had changed) of which her grandfather was editor-in-chief.  She also wrote for a year and half for another local newspaper until it ceased publication.  She also writes the monthly newsletter for her office.

Mimi grew up in Texas and considers herself a Texan, but it’s Mississippi that she currently calls home.   She has a severe case of wanderlust and would jet off overseas or take a road trip with her daughter in a heartbeat. She has a passion for reading, cross-stitching and collecting recipes and has recently become slightly obsessed with freezer cooking and preparing make-ahead meals. When she’s not working she spends her time at her daughter’s soccer games and can often be found scribbling notes for story ideas on the sidelines.

Mimi lives in Pascagoula, Mississippi with her teenage daughter Madeline and two black rescued cats. She works as a paralegal at a downtown law firm by day and writes at night. She is currently working on her novel for the Trouble the Black Cat Detective (Familiar Legacy) series.