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"Black Cat" -- Miss Jackson ('cos I'm nasty) |
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I had the most awesome black cat as a pet from my late teens onward. Rael, named after the protagonist of the Genesis album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, was found with his dead black and grey striped mom and his two siblings, one black and grey, the other solid black. Rael had two white patches: one on his neck and one on his belly. All of the cats had to grow into their huge ears. One of Rael's siblings was named Yoda by his adopter. Rael never quite grew into them...they were batlike huge even as an adult.
Sort of like this kitteh:
Rael was my mom's boyfriend's cat originally. He named him Calhoun after a character in the old racist TV and radio show Amos & Andy. And he mistreated "Calhoun" badly. So much so that if I even had a bamboo pole anywhere near him he'd freak, run and hide even years after I had rescued Rael from his malefactor.
By the time I established trust with Rael he and I became inseperable. He lived indoors but kept his athletic figure. He was sleek and handsome and his initially green eyes paled out to being yellow with a green outer border. His vet had him written up in his charts as being of the Bombay breed, although it is much more likely the breeding process that created the Bombay cat (black American Shorthair x Burmese) had taken place in the "wild" either between feral cats or escaped family pets. He definitely had an Asian breed look to him...sleek build, thin tail, sort of like the character design of the Siamese cats in Lady And The Tramp. My mom would even sing the "Siamese Cat Song" to him because of that. I would always say "he's my little Ninja."
Anyway, Bombays are not known for being vocalizers, but Rael had a very wide range of vocalizations including an uncanny ability for mimicry of birds and even humans. He was fond of music and rather picky about what he'd listen to. He was always there when Richie would be practicing, though, even when Richie was practicing drums, something you'd think a cat would be scared of. Rael apparently understood that the crash bam was part of music, and would just hang out, watch and listen. Richie and Rael adored each other.
Anyway, neither Richie nor Rael are around any longer, and this apartment building does not allow tenants to have pets. So I can't adopt another cat until I live elsewhere. However, if you can adopt a cat, please strongly consider a black cat. Yeah, I know, everyone knows about Basement Cat, but really, black cats are not seen as evil in all cultures. British sailors in particular believed black cats were GOOD luck, and warded off shipwrecks. In Japan, a black maneki neko is a wish for good health, and protection against visitors bringing discord or worse.
However, we live in the US, and like it or not, black cats have a bad reputation. They are seen as agents of evil, witch's familiars, and every Halloween there are incidents reported of black cats being "sacrificed" by satanic dabblers. Now that Halloween is over, the animal shelters that hold back adoption of black cats usually find themselves glutted with them. So it's time to take on a "black is beautiful" cattitude and come to the rescue of some very elegant animals whose clocks are ticking.
From Kitten Rescue: top ten reasons to adopt a black cat.
10. They look like little panthers
9. A lint brush isn't required for a black-tie affair
8. Holding a black cat is very slimming
7. Black cats will match any decor
6. When you love a black cat, luck is on your side
5. They are a great accessory to any outfit
4. They don't care what color YOU are
3. The neighborhood goth kids will think you're cool
2. Love knows no color
and the number one reason to adopt a black cat....
1. They are the least likely to be adopted.
I had Chronic Fatigue from 1991 to 1994. Haven't had a flareup since, but I don't give blood. If I hadn't gotten sick, I would donate on a regular basis. It's important. Similarly, I live in a rent-controlled apartment that will not allow me to have a cat, or I would have adopted three beautiful mini-panthers already. If you can have a critter, please adopt at least one black kitteh. Forget about the Poe story, that's just fiction. If you must think fictionally think of Kuroneko-sama from Trigun, Salem from Sabrina The Teenage Witch, and Jiji-san from Kiki's Delivery Service.
And yeah, Jiji-san's another cat that looks like Rael.
Kitten Rescue is doing two black cat adoption events on Saturday the 7th of November here in LA. There's one in the Valley and one on the Westside. So go, and let a little minion of Basement Cat steal your heart away. You won't regret it.
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