The Black Cat

Recently it has been in the SF SPCA's news section that black cats will come with freebies when they're adopted.

A few years ago, I volunteered at the San Francisco SPCA as a cat socializer (in other words I just came in and played with the cats!). The San Francisco SPCA is an incredible no-kill shelter and the lengths they go to to ensure that the animals are comfortable is unprecedented.

Even so, it was sad to see a cat that stayed in the shelter for a long time without anyone wanting to take him or her home. I remember they had a wall display showing photos of the long-timers, including one who had been in the shelter for over a year. And you know what? All of the long-timers were black cats. In fact, the overwhelming majority of cats in the shelter were black, presumably because the more colorful kitties were taken home sooner. People just seem to prefer non-black cats.

I've heard this same issue with dogs. Some people say, "You can't see their face." (Nevermind the old superstitions about black cats).

One of the most amazing cats I owned was a black cat named Midnight who would try to open the door using his paws on the doorknob. He was a highly intelligent feline and I've heard the same from other owners of black cats. On a more practical note, black fur shows up less on clothes and furniture (unless I suppose all of your clothes and furniture is white).

Other advantages a black cat has: "…black coats may have evolved separately many times in different species of cat - indicating that dark fur has a survival benefit. Furthermore, the mutations leading to a black coat are in the same gene family as those involved in human diseases like AIDS, so it may be that black cats are more resistant to disease than others." (NewScientist.com)"

Catsitting Horror - A True Story

My then-boyfriend and I were catsitting for a friend. The cat who was in our care was a tabby named Michko. Our friend had a cat-door installed for the kitty who came in and out of the apartment at his leisure. Myself being a believer in keeping cats indoors, I have to wonder what role Michko's outdoor lifestyle played in what happened...

We stopped by the apartment to replenish the food and water and spend some time with Michko, who was in the apartment when we showed up and seemed very happy to have some company. He would energetically push his head up into my palm to encourage more stroking. I was happily petting him, and after some head-strokes, Michko laid down on the floor with apparant gusto. He was the kind of cat who liked having his chest scratched. So he flopped down and appeared to do a full-body stretch. But then I noticed the stretch went on kind of long. And then he started to dry-heave, which I actually recognized, with absolute shock and horror, as death throes. I shouted to my boyfriend, who was on the phone, "Oh my god, he's dying!" Which he did. It was over in less than a minute.

The call to his owner in Europe wasn't easy. But the owner agreed that we should simply take Michko's body to the local animal shelter for cremation. No autopsy. We would never know what exactly killed Michko.

I did some research online and found that it's not uncommon for cats to die suddenly, with no apparant cause. Sometimes the heart simply gives out. I read one account from a distressed cat owner where the cat jumped up from the floor and when it landed on the chair, it was dead!

The horror.

Michko was only four years old and will be sadly missed.

Cat Loss Sympathy e-cards

Kittyporn?

CatTV

Some cats get it, some don't. Kitty television!

A friend of mine has a cat who likes to paw at the cursor on her computer screen. Another friend's cat wouldn't twitch a whisker at a fish swimming loop-de-loop on the tv screen. Whether the disinterest is due to a lack of appreciation for things 2D, or simply television snobbery, you just don't know if your cat will dig it until you try it.

Pictured to the right is The Adventures of Freddy Fish:

A video for kitties that prefer fish. Starring fish and only fish, mostly in an aquarium setting with a few Koi pond shots...Kind of like an aquarium without the mess. 30 minutes

The San Francisco S.P.C.A. really knows how to pamper cats in transition. At this deluxe no-kill shelter, cats have private condos that come equipped with perches for sunning, trees for climbing and couches for snoozing. They also have toys, TVs (I assume with videos for cats), aquariums and picture windows so they can watch the birds outside.

Simply amazing!

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