An unusual holiday I get to personally celebrate now that I have one in my life/house, is Black Cat Appreciation Day! It falls every August 17th, and it’s actually a really important holiday! I’ve seen varying research on whether or not the numbers are reliable, but while it may be argued if black cats are less likely to be adopted, it seems to be agreed upon that black cats are more likely to be euthanized at a kill-shelter. They just tend to get a bad rap and get overlooked. They’re so amazing, though. Just like all the other cats!
The one in my life is my roommate’s, and her name is Molly. She’s a little weirdo who loves rubbing her head on hard plastic and I’ve made her a little meditation corner next to my altar that she sleeps (meditates) in while I work in my office. She and I have Tummy Time on a regular basis, she has an absurd meow, and she has these unique little patches of white on her belly, tuft area, and eyelids. She’s (no lie) the softest cat I’ve ever touched — she feels like velvet!
Before I get into ways to celebrate Black Cat Appreciation Day, I wanted to share a silly video Joe made of Molly.
10 Ways To Celebrate Black Cat Appreciation Day
1. Take a page out of Joe’s play book and make an absurd video with your black cat
2. Cast a spell with the aid of your black cat
3. Donate money, toys, food, or your time (go pet a black cat!) to a local shelter
4. Get a black cat inspired manicure
5. Get your black cat to pick out your daily Tarot card
6. Watch “Catwoman”, “Sabrina The Teenage Witch”, “Hocus Pocus”, and “Felix The Cat”
7. Throw caution to the wind and break silly superstitions that prevent people from wanting to adopt black cats
8. Get a bunch of black cats together and pretend they’re just miniature panthers
9. Brush up on some fun black cat fun facts
10. Adopt a black cat from a shelter so they have a new, happy home to live in!
Okay… one more video!
How will you celebrate Black Cat Appreciation Day?
Photo: Maura Housley
Videos: Joe Dissolvo
In keeping with the all-too-fleeting Black Cat Appreciation Day (August 17) ….
THAT BLACK CAT SHE INVADED HIS DREAMS … She laid by his bared feet / at the foot of his bed / though in his dream they’d meet / which they did in his head. // For this sleek black feline / she’d been in there before / such she’d never decline / as that cat he’d adore. // A myth it couldn’t be / that her claws touched his toes / as the dreaming did he / was about that she knows. // The dream she boldly caught / that night she did invade / was the dream she had sought / the dream she’d long delayed. // Within she placed her claws / upon his sleep-bound feet / all performed with no flaws / then and there they did meet. // Though not feeling abused / by prickling on his toes / he still looked down confused / at each of five toes, two rows. // Naught of her did he find / in his dream created / though back to wakened mind / he saw her and stated // ‘Mimi, it’s you—you rascal!’ / yet he still adored her / while finding comical / her response a smooth ‘murr’. // From the thick mattress down / she landed without woes / as he said ‘You little clown— / you leave alone my toes.’ // Thought she, ‘Again we’ll meet / as you dream fast asleep / when the toes on your feet / from my paws you cannot keep.’
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Ode To SIMON’s DRINKING PROBLEM … It’s clear dear cat you’ve had a water drink / For it hangs thick and low from your thin chin / As a large drop through which light rays glisten / Then a flicker of your tongue’s tip quite pink / Comes with a sway of your tail, its kink / So noticed like that water drop again / (And you without a little silk napkin) / Your habit’s one endearingly distinct. // Plus your drinking problem leaves us no stink / Like old food stuff or hard liquor like gin / And into a bad thing you didn’t sink / You’ve committed naught resembling a sin / Habits can still be dropped in an eye’s blink / While having you near’s my mind’s medicine.
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THAT YOUNG BLACK CAT—SHE NEEDED SOMETHING … ‘If only I had something new,’ / she thought, ‘something adventurous / to do, like when the fields grew tall, fields from which wild fowl fed and flew’; / she, feline feisty and precious, / needed something or to climb the wall. // She walked over to the window pane / and looked out to the neighbouring homes /
to where she hoped to find something / —something new, beyond the back lane, / rocky road, where she’d often roam, / to where her eyes would be wandering. // And when her attention was caught / by the towering shingled roof / sheltering the large corner store, / she at once decided she ought / to climb to its black peak as proof / of her worth to those who did her adore. // Through the yards one by one she went, / glancing around this and that corner, / over then under fences tall / till she stood at the wall she’d meant / to conquer, as a foreigner, / without any fear that she’d fall. // She looked to the two garbage cans / leaning against the wooden shed, / right next to the store that was so pink; / up she jumped, her feet and hands / reached the top by but a thread, / of no better place could she think. // Having achieved her noteworthy climb, / she gazed over to the swaying trees, / unaware that her hostess stood near; / at the bus stop, as passed the time, / the woman looked up, into the breeze, / and saw her pet feline who knew no fear. // Thus the feline had done something new / and not seeing her hostess’s stare, / she returned home fulfilled and content, / for from this day excitement she drew / and she thought again she’d climb and dare / those high places worthy of her scent.