What a tragic story this week about black cats being abandoned because they are less photogenic than other types. It’s true that sometimes, our own black cat can appear as an amorphous blob in pictures, but mostly that’s because of the quality of the photographer (ahem), not the subject, and does not make him one single teeny tiny tad less loveable.
According to Battersea Cats’ and Dogs’ Home, black and white are the commonest colours of stray cats. I imagine they are a sort of genetic default setting, once the more exotic tabby and tortoiseshells are exhausted. Certainly, when we went to Battersea to pick our lovely boy, there were only black kittens available. I admit this colour wasn’t my top choice, partly because one of those Colour Me Beautiful ladies told me 20 years ago not to wear black, and I thought I should probably include shed cat hairs in the prohibition. But, nevertheless, our little boy only had to toddle over to me and put one soft paw on my knee to convince me that black was the most beautiful colour ever for a cat.
Our cat was abandoned by a feral mother with his two sisters, yet he could not be more gentle and loving. He has never once scratched anyone (despite the provocation of being dressed up in hats and frocks by various small children) and would probably rather bite himself than one of us. He rushes to see us when we come home, and takes it in turns sitting with everyone when we watch telly. He loves my book group and consented to wear a Santa hat at Christmas.
Black cats used to be considered lucky. The selfish, selfie generation is trying to make this untrue. But in our house, black is definitely beautiful.