Today is Black Cat Awareness Day. Who knew? It has been a well kept secret.

According to Cats Protection “Black cats are often overlooked in favour of cats of other colours and are the most difficult to rehome” and spending on average a week longer at rescue centres than cats of other colours. Which seems crazy to me.

I love balck cats. OK we don’t currently have a black cat, and indeed the four Noreen and I have had only one was about 30% balck. But we don’t have a black cat purely because when we’ve been looking to rescue cats there haven’t been black cats available at the Blue Cross centres we’ve been to.

However when I was a kiddie (on another planet in a different century) we always had a cat at home and in fact this was a succession of three black cats (grandmother, mother, daughter). And no, as far as I know my mother wasn’t a practising witch — although I would never be surprised at anything my mother does — at 96 she’s still a rascalous old bird, in her quiet way.

So if you’re adopting a cat (or several) all I would say is (a) rescue a cat rather than paying out for a pedigree kitten and (b) don’t overlook the black cats.

TS Eliot paid homage to black cats in “Mr Mistoffelees” from his Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats …

Mr Mistoffelees

You ought to know Mr Mistoffelees!
The Original Conjuring Cat–
(There can be no doubt about that).
Please listen to me and don’t scoff. All his
Inventions are off his own bat.
There’s no such Cat in the metropolis;
He holds all the patent monopolies
For performing surprising illusions
And creating eccentric confusions.
  At prestidigitation
    And at legerdemain
  He’ll defy examination
    And deceive you again.
The greatest magicians have something to learn
From Mr Mistoffelees’ Conjuring Turn.
Presto!
  Away we go!
    And we all say: OH!
      Well I never!
      Was there ever
      A Cat so clever
        As Magical Mr Mistoffelees!

He is quiet and small, he is black
From his ears to the tip of his tail;
He can creep through the tiniest crack,
He can walk on the narrowest rail.
He can pick any card from a pack,
He is equally cunning with dice;
He is always deceiving you into believing
That he’s only hunting for mice.
  He can play any trick with a cork
    Or a spoon and a bit of fish-paste;
  If you look for a knife or a fork
    And you think it is merely misplaced–
You have seen it one moment, and then it is gawn!
But you’ll find it next week lying out on the lawn.

    And we all say: OH!
      Well I never!
      Was there ever
      A Cat so clever
        As Magical Mr Mistoffelees!

His manner is vague and aloof,
You would think there was nobody shyer–
But his voice has been heard on the roof
When he was curled up by the fire.
And he’s sometimes been heard by the fire
When he was about on the roof–
(At least we all heard that somebody purred)
Which is incontestable proof
  Of his singular magical powers:
    And I have known the family to call
  Him in from the garden for hours,
    While he was asleep in the hall.
And not long ago this phenomenal Cat
Produced seven kittens right out of a hat!

    And we all say: OH!
      Well I never!
      Was there ever
      A Cat so clever
        As Magical Mr Mistoffelees!