Tag: black cat

  • Weekend Cat Blogging #230: Hallowe’en Black Cat Edition!

    Luna welcomes everyone to Weekend Cat Blogging #230. As has become an annual tradition here at CatSynth, we are hosting the Hallowe’en Edition in celebration of black cats.

    Hallowe’en can be a difficult time for any cat, with kids and mischief-making and such. But it can be exceptionally hard for black cats. Hallowe’en traditions for celebrating the dark, macabre, and scary collide with the (primarily American) superstition that black cats are bad luck. You can read an interesting article on the history and mythology surrounding black cats:

    On our cat forum recently, I asked the members what they thought of when they heard the words “black cat.” Being true cat lovers, they answered that the following words come to mind: mysterious, alluring, beautiful, playful, elegant and gorgeous. But when non-cat owners are asked the same question on another internet forum they come up with these words: bad luck, witches familiar, evil, demonic, mean, spooky and Halloween… So you can see the superstition lives on even today.

    Indeed, many shelters block adoption of black cats in the weeks immediately before and after Hallowe’en, some blocking adoptions for the entire month of October. However, this practice is not without its controversy, as suggested in this recent article. But as Kathy Covey’s cat blog suggests, black cats can have a hard time being adopted at any time of the year.

    However, we at CatSynth, and we suspect many of our readers, fall into the category who see black cats as alluring, beautiful and elegant – and of course, playful as well. And with that, we invite all our feline friends to join us in celebration of cats this Hallowe’en.

    To participate, please leave a link to your post as a comment, and we will add you to the round-up throughout the weekend.

    The Kitty Limericks blog featured black cats during the week leading up to Halloween, and on Friday Karen Jo composed and posted a limerick for Luna!

    Luna’s a black cat with eyes of green —
    One of the prettiest I’ve ever seen.
    She loves her nip;
    Goes on a trip.
    Now she’s ready for Halloween.

    Our friend Mickey is a bit nervous, but we’re pretty sure it has very little to do with being a black cat on Hallowe’en. Visit Mickey, Georgia and Tillie to find out more.

    Hallowe’en of course features costumes, and Raymond is enjoying a Hello Kitty costume, i.e., by mauling and drooling on it rather than wearing it.

    Hallowe’en is also about treats, and Jules enjoys banana popsicles. Vincent seems to prefer the more conventional mouse toy.

    One needs a bag to tote all those treats, and the Criz Cats remind us to use bags responsibly. Reusable bags are the best option for Hallowe’en treats and all your carrying-stuff-around needs.

    At sidewalk shoes, Patchouli says Happy Hallowe’en to everyone while remaining safely inside her screened-in porch. We at CatSynth definitely recommend that cats stay indoors this weekend.

    Conventionally speaking, Hallowe’en treats are candy. But the cats over at Friends FurEver think that tuna makes a better treat that candy. I suspect that Luna agrees.

    Hallowe’en is associated with autumn colors (including the iconic orange), and Ernie’s black fur complements the fall colors perfectly in this photo.

    Salome (in black silhouette) has a “trick or treat” plan of her own at Paulchens FoodBlog?!

    Our fellow “house panther” Mr. Hendrix (or perhaps his evil alter-ego Bendrix) and the “blurpy boy” wish everyone a Happy Hallowe’en! Seems like there ready to go and enjoy the unique holiday nightlife.

  • CatSynth pic: Żabka na klawiaturze

    From Axtmörder on flickr:

    Żabka poses with a Korg X-5.

  • CatSynth pic: mama & the wire-spaghetti

    For National Feral Cat Day, we at CatSynth feature a picture of a former stray cat with a keyboard. From Poekie on flickr:

    This is Mama, a stray cat, who has spent the last 2 years at the animal-shelter, where she gave birth to her son Zoen.
    Mama ( we’re already calling her Mama Cat ), is very shy …. she doesn’t like anybody getting too close and spends most of her time in a dark, out-of-the-way corner…… we were warned she will be ” a bit of a challenge ”
    Once the door of the cat-carrier opened, Mama Cat shot out in a flash and cowered in the dark, at the bottom of our cupboard, amoungst the cobwebs and wires, behind A.’s piano and synthesizer……. and there she still is !!!!

    Mama is very slowly growing accustomed to us. She still
    won’t let us touch her, but she has left her hidingplace and
    now enjoys roaming around outside. Allthough she doesn’t
    sleep indoors, she does come home to eat a few times a day,
    so she must consider us to be her ‘home-base’.
    She may never again be a lapcat, but as long as she seems
    to be happy, so are we 🙂

  • Cat Synths on a Whole New Level…

    No, this is not Luna. It’s a video from YouTube by cyriak, as seen on matrixsynth:

    Sorry… meow mix
    “my cat wrote the song, I just played the music and shot the video”

  • CatSynth Video: studio cat

    From phono1337 on YouTube, via matrixsynth:

    on of my cats in her favorite place

  • CatSynth pic: Midnight Monday

    This is another photo featuring our neighbor. During one of his visits, I found him hiding behind this equipment rack.

    Although barely visible from this angle, this rack features some of the older E-MU Proteus and Yamaha FM modules.

  • 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.