Black Cat Experiences
Published October 27, 2011
Flickr User Cat Chanel
Black cats are often associated with bad omens and Halloween, but to those that own them they have provided wonderful experiences.
Note: This is not Nemesis.
For ages, black cats and Halloween have been paired together like Romeo and Juliet. Draped in mystery over the years, magical powers are often attributed to these beautiful cats who have been historically considered “familiars” to witches. As a result, devilish myths around black cats grew rapidly.
Fortunately, there are countless cat lovers in today's age that pooh-pooh the slanderous notoriety associated with black cats, and instead have fallen in love and had great experiences with them. In fact, some savvy folks think of them them as good luck omens. Since I have always found black cats delightful and adore them, this writer definitely falls into this (pardon the pun) cat-egory.
My experiences with a black cat (after years of feline deprivation) began when we received a teeny 8 week-old black kitten in a shoebox as a wedding gift from Professor Irwin Corey’s son, my first husband’s childhood friend. We named the kitten Nemesis.
I should have known from the very start that this kitty would turn out to be an incredibly intelligent but over the top non-conformist. He found unbelievable places to hide, and sometimes had me in tears thinking that he had somehow escaped from our apartment.
We would always find him, though. On one occasion, we found Nemesis hours after he was missing innocently curled up inside the lining of our bed’s box spring, detected only by the lump under the bed. I never let on we had discovered his private sanctuary!
Nemesis was an adept escape artist; on another occasion, he invisibly disappeared out the door. After searching for him for hours, a tenant living 10 flights above us “magically” discovered him in his living room. Today, it still remains a mystery how he knew Nemesis was ours, and how he was able to return him to us.
To be sure, Nemesis was quite the playful kitty. Feigning terror of the vacuum cleaner, Nemesis loved to battle the canister-shaped monster. He was only at peace once he was satisfied that it was dead. But once the vacuum went on again, his predatory nature was once again on display.
Nemesis gifted me with almost 18 years of one of the most delightful relationships I have had with a feline. He lives on eternally in my heart.
What experiences have you had with black cats? Share them in a comment.
Shortly after retiring as a social worker and psychotherapist, I discovered my "writer's voice"…
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Comments (7)
i love black cats. currently i have three. the oldest two are brothers [their sister is b/w]. i have one of their nephews [black] and two of his brothers [b & w]. my other cat [aunt to the 3 nephew] is b/w.
all the black cats are lovers. all want to be as close as possible to their mama, especially when i am sleeping.
the other black cat that i had in the 80s - midnight plus one -- was also a gentle and loving cat.
Bodhi was an incredible companion. I could write a whole list of descriptors about his powers of intuition and purrception. The way he entered and exited my life was magical. You can go here, http://cattressmattress.com/2010/05/21/a-tribute-to-bodhi/ for the full story. I always had a feeling that he would find his way back to me...two months ago Bodhi's 2 month old identical twin appeared in my life. I named him Chico due to his energetic and affectionate nature. Whether Bodhi has returned in another form or whether this new furball of energy shares his spirit, I am so appreciative of their purrescence in my life. Black cats are truly magical. :)
I currently have 3 black cats. They are all impish and very loveable. Tallulah is my little "Down's Syndrome" kitty. Her legs are too short for her body, her head is too small, her eyes are too big and both are "lazy" eyes. She has nuclear sclerosis in both eyes. She has a roach back and is sticken with a mild case of cerebellar hyperplasia. But she is a true love bunny. She is purring on my lap as I type this. Her sister Esther is a normal black feline. Fiesty, impish, loving.....sometimes in that order but mostly all three at once. :) Marlbes is FIV positive and deaf due to a severe case of ear mites before I got her. She came out of an ASPCA raid on a home with over 300 cats. She is extremely loving, and like your Nemesis, LOVES to kill the vacuum cleaner! :)
We have had many black cats in our life here. Currently my son's cat Midnight is living with us. She is a cranky crabby senior citizen type cat. She was rescued as an adult and then spent 8 years traveling with my son and his rather terrible wife. We found out that she was abusing the cat.
I picked up the cat in Georgia and brought her home. She is a sweet natured animal once she trusts you. Now in her teens she she calmed down to life with us.
I Love black cats. Remembering with love: Chandar, Moses, Buttons and Momma.
Black cats are the absolute BESTEST. Really, there's no better word to describe them. And the fact that they're tied to Halloween, even better!! Halloween's my favorite holiday! My black kitty is named Echo and he's the most intelligent little dude ever!! He never ceases to amaze me! I've vowed that my next cat will be a black cat, u just can't believe how anyone would/could think they're bad luck. Everyone that meets my little boy-if they aren't already-become immediate converts! Even my cable and maintenance guys love Echo, as he always runs over to them and sniffs their bags and tries to help them. He's such a little man!!
The only black cat we ever had was named "Pinky". The only other mark he had on him was the tip of his tail which was white. He lived to be fifteen-years-old, and we loved him dearly. The day he died was a very sad day for all of us.