We've been blessed with a number of black cats! They seem to be attracted to our family. Ms. Kitty, Blackie, Ringo and Ringa (these two are tux cats with white on paws and chest, but definitely a part of the black cat group!
I’ve had the great good fortune of befriending several black cats (among others) during the course of my life. I find them endlessly delightful, loving, and highly entertaining. I adopted two brothers from a local animal shelter about a week before Christmas years ago. They were 5 months old at the time I adopted them; their shelter foster mom told me they had a harder time finding homes for them. I’m so glad I didn’t allow foolish superstitious nonsense to deter me from welcoming two of the most joyous souls into my life. ❤️
So sorry for your loss of sweet Malcolm. When I first married my 2nd husband, he had a little black cat named Beanie, she lived to be 20 years old, she was not happy to have me around. But she learned to love me. She would hide out in the basement and when I would come down to do the ironing she would rub up against my legs and purr.
Our current black cat, Timber, is the boss of the house. He has my husband wrapped around his little finger! Every night he taunts my husband with loud noises, not meows, and makes my husband run around the house to catch him and pick him up. Then he settles down on his chest with his tongue out and falls asleep there while we watch TV. A crazy scene every evening!
I currently have 7 adopted cats, 3 of which are black. I concede that I am now officially a "cat lady". After I sold my horse farm in Greensboro, NC and moved to Wilmington, leaving 7 barn cats to the new owner and taking one with me, My first Wilmington adoptee was a 4 week old black female. I had no idea she was that young when I agreed to take her in. I tried to return her, but the woman wouldn't return my calls. I bottle fed Elphaba for a couple of weeks while she got used to eating solid food, enjoying her company and bonding on a couple of road trips. That was 2019. Elphaba wasn't raised by a cat really, just me. She's not at all fond of any of my other cats and doesn't interact positively with them. When challenged, she yowls back but backs down and scratches on the door to go back out. She's a real loner, exactly like Elphaba Throp in the musical, WICKED. But if I go out on the deck where she stays most of the time, she'll give me all kinds of snuggles and purrs. Rarely, she scratches on the door at night to come in. If there's no other cat on the bed with me she'll come snuggle up beside me. But I mustn't give her pets because she is a "striker" when you least expect it! Elphie has a strong pull on my heart. I just seem to feel bad for her all the time. She would've been a very happy only cat.
Emily in technically a tuxedo cat. Emily hides under furniture all day and only comes out when one particular cat is put in the garage with her mother for the night. Emily loves me to death when I sit on the toilet! Otherwise, she might come up on the bed to say "good morning" before she disappears for the rest of the day. I feel sorry for Emily too. She has very limited life experience.
Last, and certainly not least is Shiz. I adopted her at 11 months of age in early summer this year. She is petite, her features look like a Maine Coon, she is velvety black with a white exclamation point down to the tip of her nose, and she is the smartest, chillest, softest cat I've ever had. Galinda, Oats, Penelope and Oz all have storied too, but they aren't black.
Thank you for sharing these lovely stories and supporting Lightning Bug. Elphaba is a fantastic name! We have seen several cats re-emerge from their traumas and tribulations over a period of many years and it has been an inspiring and heartwarming experience.
Sorry, Scot, I meant to say it is beautifully and sensitively written, not the way Siri transcribed my audio message above, which turned out to be the opposite of what I meant!! 😣
Sorry, Scot, I meant to say it is beautifully and sensitively written, not the way Siri transcribed my audio message above, which turned out to be the opposite of what I meant!! 😣
My last cat was a pretty, petite, black cat with lovely green (sometimes blue, sometimes blue-green) eyes named Xena (Warrior Kitty).
She was a bossy, semi-standoffish, but in love with me (according to my family) cat. We got her when she was about 2 years old. She didn't like to be held for longer than a few minutes, but would sit next to me on the arm of my recliner, and, if I didn't at least pet her a tiny bit during our time there, she would head butt my shoulder as if to say "please pay attention to me" and then I'd pet her and talk to her.
She was my "hockey buddy" would hang out with me while I watched my favorite sport. Sometimes sitting on that arm of the chair, sometimes sitting to the right of me, or on the foot part next to my leg, when the recliner was laid back.
When we would come home, she would be sitting in the window watching for our car, and by the time we were parked, and in the door, she would be waiting at the door. She never went outside (indoor cat only), and we could leave the door and the screen open, and she would sit there and look out, but never venture out.
On noisy holidays (Independence day fireworks, new years eve) when neighbors would blow stuff up, she would hide under my bed until it was over, and look at me as if to say "why didn't you go out there and stop that noise when you knew it bothered me so!?!?" She even got to the point where she tolerated my Son picking her up, and putting her on his forearm with legs on either side of the arm, and he would call her his "one-arm" kitty. After a bit of him doing that, she would squirm ("okay I let you do that for a few minutes. Put me down now.").
She got sick (an issue with something under her tongue that no matter what we did, didn't get better) and eventually we had to take her to the vet and have her put to sleep because she was miserable and couldn't eat, nor groom herself (which was a big thing for her "oh you touched me, I'd better wash that spot... lick, lick, lick"). That was two years ago this past July.
I miss her. We have not gotten another cat yet (we've all been very busy, so we're waiting as we are moving several states away from here and figure it would be easier to get one after we are moved and settled.
But thank you for this post. If I could post a photo of my Xena I would. I have one on my wall all framed. After she passed, I got a promotional email from Chewy (the online pet company) and I wrote them back and said that she had passed, and that I didn't want any more promotional emails. They took me off that list and then their staff sent me flowers with a card that said "We hope these flowers bring you a smile and remind you of the love Xena left on your heart. Sending you comforting hugs. Brandon and your Chewy family". If I ever get another pet (which I will) I'm definitely going to give Chewy my business.
You can tell the quality of a person by how well they treat their animals. You sir, are pure gold! I love black cats too! We love our Max, a 10- year old black tuxedo cat we adopted 2 years ago from a shelter. Before that we had Putnam, a black and white cow cat.
My first cat ever was a black kitten I plucked out of a cardboard box outside the local grocery store. I remember bringing him home and to my great surprise my parents let me keep him! (My dad was allergic to cats). I named him Dionysus after the Greek god and called him Dio for short. He outlived my time at home and my parents cared for him until the end.
My son, who is in college, adopted a feral black cat from a friend who couldn’t keep her. He moved her into the frat house and “Frat Cat” became an Alpha Phi Delta 😂 🐈⬛ Typical of frat boys no one wanted to clean the litter box so Frat Cat moved in with us. She was clearly not happy and hissed a lot and hid out in my son’s room or the basement. She has warmed up to us over time, but whenever my son comes home from school, she is cozied up next to him in his room. She knows who saved her!
My deepest sympathies on the passing of your beloved Malcolm. Like you, my sister has been the staff person for more than one black cat. Cats of any color are fine with me. I have been trained to serve properly by the best of felines.
Ah, the kitties we have loved. So sweet, and bittersweet.
Fun to see Eric's name mentioned. Susan Soboroff, his then-wife, was my primary physician. I lived in a generous handful of places in Trumansburg, the last one being, probably, the second-smallest house in the village (on Hector Street). They practiced for a good while from a lovely Victorian on Cayuga Street; I was disappointed when they left it.
Those are precious stories. I have the sweetest little black kitty, Miss Elizabeth Bennett. I adopted two kittens born under my neighbors house- a Siamese marked one, which was the only one I initially was going to take, and then learned that “he is very close to his little sister here” so they both came with me. She is a particularly sweet, loving, humble little thing.
Emmie and Echo. Both sweet girls. Beautiful black fur with just a few white hairs on their chests. They now rest in peace.
Andie - she just turned 11. Black with a small white patch on her chest and belly. She oozes love for us, but sadly is terrified of strangers.
All three adopted. All three such precious gifts. 😻😻😻
Scott - so very sorry for the loss of Malcom.
We've been blessed with a number of black cats! They seem to be attracted to our family. Ms. Kitty, Blackie, Ringo and Ringa (these two are tux cats with white on paws and chest, but definitely a part of the black cat group!
I’ve had the great good fortune of befriending several black cats (among others) during the course of my life. I find them endlessly delightful, loving, and highly entertaining. I adopted two brothers from a local animal shelter about a week before Christmas years ago. They were 5 months old at the time I adopted them; their shelter foster mom told me they had a harder time finding homes for them. I’m so glad I didn’t allow foolish superstitious nonsense to deter me from welcoming two of the most joyous souls into my life. ❤️
So sorry for your loss of sweet Malcolm. When I first married my 2nd husband, he had a little black cat named Beanie, she lived to be 20 years old, she was not happy to have me around. But she learned to love me. She would hide out in the basement and when I would come down to do the ironing she would rub up against my legs and purr.
Our current black cat, Timber, is the boss of the house. He has my husband wrapped around his little finger! Every night he taunts my husband with loud noises, not meows, and makes my husband run around the house to catch him and pick him up. Then he settles down on his chest with his tongue out and falls asleep there while we watch TV. A crazy scene every evening!
I currently have 7 adopted cats, 3 of which are black. I concede that I am now officially a "cat lady". After I sold my horse farm in Greensboro, NC and moved to Wilmington, leaving 7 barn cats to the new owner and taking one with me, My first Wilmington adoptee was a 4 week old black female. I had no idea she was that young when I agreed to take her in. I tried to return her, but the woman wouldn't return my calls. I bottle fed Elphaba for a couple of weeks while she got used to eating solid food, enjoying her company and bonding on a couple of road trips. That was 2019. Elphaba wasn't raised by a cat really, just me. She's not at all fond of any of my other cats and doesn't interact positively with them. When challenged, she yowls back but backs down and scratches on the door to go back out. She's a real loner, exactly like Elphaba Throp in the musical, WICKED. But if I go out on the deck where she stays most of the time, she'll give me all kinds of snuggles and purrs. Rarely, she scratches on the door at night to come in. If there's no other cat on the bed with me she'll come snuggle up beside me. But I mustn't give her pets because she is a "striker" when you least expect it! Elphie has a strong pull on my heart. I just seem to feel bad for her all the time. She would've been a very happy only cat.
Emily in technically a tuxedo cat. Emily hides under furniture all day and only comes out when one particular cat is put in the garage with her mother for the night. Emily loves me to death when I sit on the toilet! Otherwise, she might come up on the bed to say "good morning" before she disappears for the rest of the day. I feel sorry for Emily too. She has very limited life experience.
Last, and certainly not least is Shiz. I adopted her at 11 months of age in early summer this year. She is petite, her features look like a Maine Coon, she is velvety black with a white exclamation point down to the tip of her nose, and she is the smartest, chillest, softest cat I've ever had. Galinda, Oats, Penelope and Oz all have storied too, but they aren't black.
I thoroughly enjoyed your post!
Thank you for sharing these lovely stories and supporting Lightning Bug. Elphaba is a fantastic name! We have seen several cats re-emerge from their traumas and tribulations over a period of many years and it has been an inspiring and heartwarming experience.
Loved this post. It’s beautifully insensitively written and the cats sound like interesting personalities. Thank you for sharing.
Sorry, Scot, I meant to say it is beautifully and sensitively written, not the way Siri transcribed my audio message above, which turned out to be the opposite of what I meant!! 😣
I translated!
Sorry, Scot, I meant to say it is beautifully and sensitively written, not the way Siri transcribed my audio message above, which turned out to be the opposite of what I meant!! 😣
My last cat was a pretty, petite, black cat with lovely green (sometimes blue, sometimes blue-green) eyes named Xena (Warrior Kitty).
She was a bossy, semi-standoffish, but in love with me (according to my family) cat. We got her when she was about 2 years old. She didn't like to be held for longer than a few minutes, but would sit next to me on the arm of my recliner, and, if I didn't at least pet her a tiny bit during our time there, she would head butt my shoulder as if to say "please pay attention to me" and then I'd pet her and talk to her.
She was my "hockey buddy" would hang out with me while I watched my favorite sport. Sometimes sitting on that arm of the chair, sometimes sitting to the right of me, or on the foot part next to my leg, when the recliner was laid back.
When we would come home, she would be sitting in the window watching for our car, and by the time we were parked, and in the door, she would be waiting at the door. She never went outside (indoor cat only), and we could leave the door and the screen open, and she would sit there and look out, but never venture out.
On noisy holidays (Independence day fireworks, new years eve) when neighbors would blow stuff up, she would hide under my bed until it was over, and look at me as if to say "why didn't you go out there and stop that noise when you knew it bothered me so!?!?" She even got to the point where she tolerated my Son picking her up, and putting her on his forearm with legs on either side of the arm, and he would call her his "one-arm" kitty. After a bit of him doing that, she would squirm ("okay I let you do that for a few minutes. Put me down now.").
She got sick (an issue with something under her tongue that no matter what we did, didn't get better) and eventually we had to take her to the vet and have her put to sleep because she was miserable and couldn't eat, nor groom herself (which was a big thing for her "oh you touched me, I'd better wash that spot... lick, lick, lick"). That was two years ago this past July.
I miss her. We have not gotten another cat yet (we've all been very busy, so we're waiting as we are moving several states away from here and figure it would be easier to get one after we are moved and settled.
But thank you for this post. If I could post a photo of my Xena I would. I have one on my wall all framed. After she passed, I got a promotional email from Chewy (the online pet company) and I wrote them back and said that she had passed, and that I didn't want any more promotional emails. They took me off that list and then their staff sent me flowers with a card that said "We hope these flowers bring you a smile and remind you of the love Xena left on your heart. Sending you comforting hugs. Brandon and your Chewy family". If I ever get another pet (which I will) I'm definitely going to give Chewy my business.
Thank you for sharing Tracy!
This is perhaps the sweetest story I have ever read!
Aww shucks.
You can tell the quality of a person by how well they treat their animals. You sir, are pure gold! I love black cats too! We love our Max, a 10- year old black tuxedo cat we adopted 2 years ago from a shelter. Before that we had Putnam, a black and white cow cat.
My first cat ever was a black kitten I plucked out of a cardboard box outside the local grocery store. I remember bringing him home and to my great surprise my parents let me keep him! (My dad was allergic to cats). I named him Dionysus after the Greek god and called him Dio for short. He outlived my time at home and my parents cared for him until the end.
My son, who is in college, adopted a feral black cat from a friend who couldn’t keep her. He moved her into the frat house and “Frat Cat” became an Alpha Phi Delta 😂 🐈⬛ Typical of frat boys no one wanted to clean the litter box so Frat Cat moved in with us. She was clearly not happy and hissed a lot and hid out in my son’s room or the basement. She has warmed up to us over time, but whenever my son comes home from school, she is cozied up next to him in his room. She knows who saved her!
My deepest sympathies on the passing of your beloved Malcolm. Like you, my sister has been the staff person for more than one black cat. Cats of any color are fine with me. I have been trained to serve properly by the best of felines.
Ah, the kitties we have loved. So sweet, and bittersweet.
Fun to see Eric's name mentioned. Susan Soboroff, his then-wife, was my primary physician. I lived in a generous handful of places in Trumansburg, the last one being, probably, the second-smallest house in the village (on Hector Street). They practiced for a good while from a lovely Victorian on Cayuga Street; I was disappointed when they left it.
Thanks for the memory tour.
Those are precious stories. I have the sweetest little black kitty, Miss Elizabeth Bennett. I adopted two kittens born under my neighbors house- a Siamese marked one, which was the only one I initially was going to take, and then learned that “he is very close to his little sister here” so they both came with me. She is a particularly sweet, loving, humble little thing.
We adopted Fluffy, a long haired black cat, from the shelter in 2007. He died in 2023. We loved him so much.
Black cats are so cute https://open.substack.com/pub/woochi143/p/lil-bizkit-bizz-bizz-for-short?r=5xgb18&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
I was offered a tiny black kitten, they said no one wanted it.
I took the kitty in, which became a wonderful companion
for the next 20 years.....