Midnight Monday: Cat in the Window

No, this is not Luna. This black cat, featured in a holiday window display at Macy’s in San Francisco, did bear a strong resemblance.

Macy’s and the San Francisco SPCA have a longstanding program that features adoptable animals (cats and dogs) in the store’s holiday window displays. You can find more info at the San Francisco SPCA site.

hpnyc.org on the F train

Yesterday while was in the F train in New York, a young blond man came through the crowded car soliciting donations. I would not have given him much notice, except that as he was carrying a small black cat, and supposedly collecting for an organization called “Homeless Pets NYC” with a website hpnyc.org. The URL will take you to a site that describes the person I saw and his black cat, and suggests that like most subway solicitations it’s a scam. Very sad.

Weekend Cat Blogging: Halloween and Black Cat Edition

We at CatSynth are proud to again host the Hallowe’en Edition of Weekend Cat Blogging. We also want to take a moment to appreciate the chat noirs, the black cats.

Every year one can read articles both celebrating black cats, and warning for their safety. From the Santa Barbara Independent:

The superstition surrounding black cats cause them to be the target of pranks on Halloween. Therefore, people with black cats should be extra careful about keeping them safely inside on Halloween. The concern is serious enough that most humane societies avoid adopting out black cats during the Halloween season due to the risk of them being harmed.

Superstitions and unfounded prejudice persist to this day – and not just at Sarah Palin rallies. Fortunately, stories of harm to cats on Halloween is relatively rare. But there is more concern for black cats being used as “Hallowe’en props”, only to be returned to the shelter or abandoned after the holiday. But black cats have a difficult time during the whole year, not just on Hallowe’en. From The Cat’s Meow by Kathy Covey:

When you look at the fate of black cats in animal shelters, you’d surmise they were the most unlucky of creatures. Overlooked in favor of their orange neighbor, last of the litter chosen, passed over for the more visible white cat — they make up the largest segment of the Cat Adoption Team’s shelter population.

But Covey then describes the virtues of black cats, and leaves us with this thought:

So all of you who have and love black cats, consider yourself fortunate to be in the presence of such a genetic marvel, the black cat!

So we at CatSynth would like to celebrate black cats this weekend. All cats are welcome to join, but if their is a chat noir in the house, we would ask you to feature him or her in your post. As always, you can leave a comment below, or contact us, and we’ll add you to the round-up over the course of the weekend.

And so let us begin…


Cece comes over trick-or-treating this morning at iInfidel. Looks like he wants in.


Want to see something scary? Check out this baking disaster at Paulchens FoodBlog. Othello seems unperturbed, and is determined to relax this weekend.


Welcome to Pam and Patchouli of Sidewalk Shoes, who are first time participants in Weekend Cat Blogging! Patchouli give us her fake "smile for the camera" smile for the occasion. Please do stop by to welcome them.


Black cats can be very helpful, and Samantha helps recycle bags (that is, after first playing with them). See Samantha, and Tigger, and fall foliage at Life From a Cat's Perspective.


Rosa's Yummy Yums features the lovely black cat Marushka and a tribute to cats from Jules Verne.


Luna's fellow house panther Diamond Emerald-Eyes shares this "fangtastic graphic" with us. She also hosted Costumed Capers this past Thursday, a veritable feline masquerade. We think we spotted a few of our friends there.


Over at Gattina's, Rosie attempts to be scary for Hallowe'en. But being scary requires some serious follow-through. Let's go see if Rosie succeeds, or just ends up being cute.


The handsome black denizen of the The House of Chaos, Loup-Garou, joins us this weekend. He is suffering from stress, which was probably exacerbated by a trip to the vet. We hope that things calm down a bit.


The story over that The House of the (Mostly) Black Cats is more comfy than scary, where Mini enjoys a unique way of sitting in a lap.


It's time to turn back the clock in Stockholm at The World According to Pia. We are also reminded to "appreciate cats, no matter what colour, as well as other animals, as the most amazing, loveable, adorable, quirky beings they are." We at CatSynth couldn't agree more.


We remain in Stockholm for a moment to visit with Klara at Anne's Food. Klara may be the opposite of a black cat, but she is still very cute.


More cuteness, and more than a little mischief, can be found today at Cuisine Guylaine.

Thanks to everyone who participated this week. We will continue to post entries through Monday morning.








Midnight Monday: Black Cat in a Window

No, this isn’t Luna. But this black cat does bare a remarkable resemblance to her. He even has greenish eyes, though he is a little bigger.

I saw him through a window while out for a walk yesterday in the nearby South Beach neighborhood. He did come up to greet me, and let me know that this was his window.

I like to think that encountering a black cat is good luck.

Midnight Monday: Gallery Cat

No, this is not Luna. This is the unofficial “gallery cat” at the Luggage Store Gallery.
He came over to check out my gear as I loaded in on Thursday.

It's always a good sign to see a cat, especially a black cat, before playing.

Check out more Midnight Monday on House Panthers.