Owning a Black Cat: 4 Interesting Things to Know…

Are you considering living with a cat or having a new cat in your life? Owning a black cat (or being owned by a black cat) is definitely a unique experience.

Our Story

We live on the sun-drenched island of Gran Canaria which is one of 7 of the Canary Islands.

The Canary Islands are known for the vast numbers of street cats. When I moved to the Canaries I was in shock at just how many cats live outside.

Naturally, black cats dominate the domestic cat population so many of these street cats are black.

As soon as I stepped onto Canarian soil, my chances of owning a black cat increased exponentially!

We always look after the cats that live on our street and one female Siamese cat, in particular, became very close to us.

She was well known to our neighbors and she would have litter after litter of kittens.

To cut a long story short, one of her litters consisted of 2 tiny black balls of fur and this is where owning a black cat became our reality…

4 Things to Know

Now many of the things to consider when it comes to living with a cat apply to all breeds, shapes, and colors.

I thought I’d pick out some of the funny traits that I’ve noticed living with our boy called Coco.

A lot of what I have noticed is backed up by the black cat community too on Instagram and Facebook.

• Black cats are vocal

Coco is an American Shorthair and American Shorthair’s, as well as Bombay Cats, are known to be very noisy.

If Coco wants something whether it be food, hugs, opening a door for him, or just attention, he really lets us know.

He even makes an announcement before and after using his litter tray!

Coco isn’t really meowing when he does this either, it sounds as if he’s trying to talk.

Recent studies on black cat genetics are suggesting that black cats have the best of the domestic cat genes making them resistant to a lot of illnesses.

Do these genes give them high levels of intelligence?

• You may sit on your cat now and then

When you have a black cat you realize just how many black objects you have in your home that act as camouflage.

Coco becomes invisible when he’s sitting or sleeping on our black rug, one of our computer chairs, or a black jacket.

Sometimes you just don’t see him at all, especially when his eyes are closed.

We don’t really like to have bright lights on in our home as we find it a lot more relaxing to use lamps.

This makes Coco’s camouflage even better!

Thankfully we have never sat or stood on him full force because he’s very quick to let you know that he’s there.

A collar would pretty much solve the issue but I’m not a fan of them especially as Coco is a house cat.

• Black cats can be clingy

As I mentioned earlier American Shorthairs and Bombay Cats appear to be the most common black domestic cats and they are known for their intelligence.

Coco often blows our mind with his perception of the home, his routines, and his ability to communicate.

My Fiancee and I both work from home so our home is very much our castle and we use every room in the house frequently.

Wherever we are, you can expect Coco to be there too…

He is either sleeping on or by one of us while we are at our desks or he’s around our ankles, brushing himself up against us.

If Yurena and I are having a hug and a kiss, Coco appears from nowhere and has to be right in between us. It really is crazy!

Sometimes he’ll appear from a different room to join in and have a family hug. How does he know we are hugging?

He used to meow and scratch at our bedroom door until we finally gave in and we now allow him to sleep on our bed.

He literally sleeps in between us ALL NIGHT!

Yurena doesn’t need an alarm clock now because he wakes her up every morning wanting some wet food.

• You won’t stop starring at your cat

Don’t get me wrong I can see the beauty in all creatures especially cats, but there’s just something so striking about a black cat’s looks.

Is it the contrast between the dark fur and the bright green, yellow, or copper eyes?

Is it their even black coat?

One thing is for sure is that black cats turn heads…

My Final Thoughts

Having lived with Coco for coming up to 4 years now, I really understand the appeal of owning a black cat.

It’s a cliche but I don’t feel like his owner at all, he’s part of the family and he has his own very strong character traits.

I’m very happy to see that times are changing and people’s mentality towards black cats is shifting towards a more fair and positive existence for our furry friends.

I’m sure all cat owners say this about their cat, but there is something truly special about Coco.

If you are thinking about owning a black cat check out Over 40 Brilliant Black Cat Names from the Black Cat Community…

For daily black cat content check out the My Mini Panther Facebook page.