When I was 5 years-old I got my first black cat. A little girl with three white patches on her belly that formed a perfect bikini. For me, that was it. I was hooked for life.
Since that day, I have always owned black cats. It’s not that I don’t like cats of other colors, I do. In fact, I currently own six cats. It just so happens that three of them are black. Like I said, I’m hooked. I’ve become a crazy cat guy.
And I’ve learned that black cats are different. How? Black cats arouse passion. If someone sees a tabby cat, they might say “she’s cute”. But with a black cat, you’ll get something like “oh wow, look at that, it’s amazing, he looks like a little panther!”.
It seems the word “cat” is never enough to describe them. Black cats inspire adjectives. Shiny, black cat. Big, shiny, black cat. Big, shiny, black cat with gorgeous eyes. And the list goes on. For cats of all other colors (with the occasional exception of orange), it’s just cat.
But unfortunately, black cats also inspire something else. And that something is superstition. See a black dog? Meh. A black bird? Yawn. A black cow? Whatever. But see a black cat and all of a sudden you can’t let it cross your path (you’ll get sick), you can’t let it walk away from you (it will take your luck with it) and you can’t let it out of your sight (lest it brings back witches to boil you in their cauldron).
While these superstitions sound silly, in reality they’ve made life hard for black cats. Like, really hard. Black cats are the most abused, least adopted and most euthanized.
Since black cats can’t promote their own awesomeness on the Internet, I decided to step in for them and create a fun infographic on the many benefits of owing a black cat (or having one own you). I started with a list of over 50 reasons to own a black cat, but whittled it down to the top 17.
These nuggets are based both on science and my life-long experience in owning black cats. If you have any of your own reasons for owning a black cat, please leave them in the comments below. Enjoy!
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Brilliant! Not to mention, the black cat in Aristocats is obviously the awesomest one.
@Elizabeth – Thank you!
As an owner of two fabulous black rescue cats, I can attest that all of the above is absolutely true!
@Jady Lady – Yep, black cats rule! Thank you!
This is great. But nobody in the Middle Ages thought the world was flat. It’s a myth invented in the US and promoted by people who wanted the colonies to have their own hero.
The belief in the world being flat goes back thousands of years. The earliest Buddhist religions believed this, and some still do.
Amazing! I love this, am Tweeting and Liking! Great perspective, cute! Fun! And informative most importantly!
XO
@Jaime – Wow. Thank you so much for everything! Please keep in touch.
Great, fun, infographic. Thanks for sharing! (I’m going to add it to my blog.)
@Jeanne – Thank you so much…I appreciate it!
Great job on the graphic! And fun facts too.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Blackie and Emily agree with every one of the 17! Blackie has black whiskers and Emily is a tuxedo with white whiskers.
Thank you!
This is fabulous! My 18 year old Scooter agrees
18…he’s an old man! Thanks so much!
I own 9 cats, all black, well ones a calico but she has black spots.
black cats are the best kind of cat in my opinion.
Wow. 9 little panthers. I’ve got some catching up to do!
I don’t need convincing. 4 of my 14 are house panthers and all are sweet.
14? I can’t imagine. Well, yes I can! Black cats certainly get the award for sweetness!