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Daphne
Trad climber
Northern California
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Jul 17, 2015 - 09:20pm PT
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Thanks Fritz-- i see that Harley's handsomeness is enhanced by his devil may care use of the basket. Will work on this and post the best efforts. I solemnly swear not to bombard this thread with cuteness. Too much.
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Daphne
Trad climber
Northern California
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Jul 17, 2015 - 09:57pm PT
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Tami he is a Ragdoll, but he is going to look just like your beautiful guy as time passes. Ragdolls grow into their coloring, sometime taking as much as 2-4 years to fully develop. Their fur is like rabbit hair-- amazingly soft. (I'm gushingly in love. With all kitties! I've always opened this thread so I'm so happy to be here.)
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Aug 14, 2015 - 09:52am PT
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Bernice happy to have me back from Alaska.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Aug 14, 2015 - 11:19am PT
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Daphne
Trad climber
Northern California
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Aug 14, 2015 - 02:10pm PT
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Daphne
Trad climber
Northern California
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Aug 20, 2015 - 11:03pm PT
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So love this photo and these kitties
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Da-Veed
Big Wall climber
Bigfork
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Aug 21, 2015 - 07:33am PT
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Nice Birman cats! Here is mine. They fill in color as the get older.
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Hardly Visible
Social climber
Llatikcuf WA
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Aug 21, 2015 - 10:37am PT
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Daphne,
Your cats sure are cute!
Here's a few really cute kittens and a couple of really nice adult cats that we have at our shelter right now. Since you will notice that all of the cats I've featured are black, I'm including a short piece about some of the challenges that black shelter cats face.
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Many of you who follow this thread are probably aware that I work in a cage less no-kill cat rescue shelter here in Washington, and with my love of cats it is something that I am proud of. This year has been a little unusual in that over half of the kittens we have taken in this year are black. In my opinion all of them are just as cute as kittens can be, yet as beautiful and deserving as they are of a good home they are frequently passed over in favor of cats of other colors. Sadly the reason they are passed over is that even in this modern day in age black cats are still burdened by myths and fables from the medieval ages. It is ridiculous and tragic all at the same time that silly superstitions left over from a dark time when we used to burn innocent women because we thought they were witches, often complicates finding homes for cats and kittens in shelters.
While I would like to think that society as a whole has risen from the dark ages and that all of our black felines will find loving homes with little problem, reality quite often does not support this thought. There have been a number of black cats in our shelter who started out as kittens with us and have wound up spending years with us, even though they were as cute, lovable and friendly as any cat in the shelter. I am thankful that these cats and kittens wound up with us because they are safe with us for however long it takes to find a home. Other black cats are not so fortunate because the grim facts are that 70% of all cats surrendered to other animal shelters nationwide are euthanized, and for black cats that figure is even grimmer.
Here are just a few of the absurd myths and superstitions that plague black cats to this very day:
If a black cat crosses your path, you will have bad luck.
Some believe black cats are witches in disguise.
Many believe black cats are witches familiars. (Beings that aid witches in performing their craft.)
Some believe that black cats carried demons.
To meet a black cat at midnight is to meet Satan.
If a black cat suddenly abandons the house of its masters, there will be a great disaster in that house soon.
Seeing a black cat in your dream could represent bad luck or a warning of something unfavorable that may take place in your life.
Not all myths and fables about black cats are unfavorable, here are some examples that cast black cats in a more favorable light:
In England & Australia it is thought if a black cat crosses your path, you will have GOOD luck.
Fisherman’s wives kept black cats while their husbands went away to sea. They believed that the black cats would prevent danger from occurring to their husbands.
It is considered good luck if a British bride sees a black cat on the way to her wedding.
In Cornwall, passing a black cat's tail over the eyes cures soreness.
In Wales, black cats are believed to prevent sickness according to this Welsh proverb:
A black cat, I’ve heard it said; can charm all ill away;
And keep the house wherein she dwells; from fever’s deadly sway.
As you can see, be they negative or positive these are all just superstitions and myths unfounded in reality in any shape or form. These ideas should have all been discarded long ago by any clear thinking society. I personally have dealt with so many black cats over the years that if they truly brought bad luck that most assuredly I would be long dead by now!
The simple facts of the matter pertaining to black cats are that black is merely one of the three basic colors of cats which are thought of as "pure." The other two basic colors for cats are red and white. All other coat patterns and colors found in cats are a combination of any two or three of these basic colors. The differences are all a matter of genetics which are carried down from cat-to-cat. For example a kitten whose parents both possessed a dominant black gene, will almost in all cases be pure black. If however, if either of the parents has a recessive red gene, the kitten may carry it also, which is why black cats often appear red or rusty in certain light. Owning a black cat is no more likely to bring you either “bad” or “good” luck any more than the genes that determine the color of your own hair are likely to change your luck in any meaningful way. It is all just genetics and there really is no luck involved.
Nowadays we don’t turn to black cats to provide healing for our sore eyes nor to assure us a safe passage while out at sea, we instead are drawn to them for their beauty and good nature and we find that to be magic enough on its own. There are even a handful of studies demonstrating a relationship between fur color and behavior that have shown that black cats are more social overall, with both their fellow felines and human companions alike. Their laid-back mannerisms make them particularly good easy going pets. The one thing that is certain about black cats is that people who have chosen to live with them wouldn’t have it any other way!
If you can find it in your heart to give a black cat or kitten a loving home, you would be doing them a huge favor and enriching your own life in the process. You would also be doing your part to bring the world's thinking about black cats from out of the dark ages and into the 21st century where it belongs.
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MisterE
Gym climber
Being In Sierra Happy Of Place
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Aug 21, 2015 - 11:23am PT
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Oh, were you going to make tea?
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jaaan
Trad climber
Chamonix, France
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Aug 21, 2015 - 12:02pm PT
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Hey Hardly Visible, Freeman looks a real character! I'd heard that about black cats in the States and really didn't believe it - until now. What are people on that they can be so stupid?
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MisterE
Gym climber
Being In Sierra Happy Of Place
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Aug 30, 2015 - 03:58pm PT
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A cat cozy in a cat cozy?
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G_Gnome
Trad climber
Cali
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Sep 11, 2015 - 12:30pm PT
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I never understood the fear of black cats. In my experience they are usually cooler than other cats. Here are my two.
Monkey actually prefers sleeping in the dirt. Wonder where he got that inclination?!
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Cats of course bury their personal waste. Harley (the cat) has taken that a logical step farther. When we feed him something that is not to his taste, he makes elaborate burying motions over the food on the floor. Now he's decided my morning coffee also needs to be buried on my desk.
I had to grab the coffee when I thought he was about to knock it over.
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Fossil climber
Trad climber
Atlin, B. C.
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How about some good cat names?
We had a big fat yellow cat who sat in the easiest chair a lot and had a lot to say. We named him Chairman Meow.
And another named Underfoot.
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D'Wolf
climber
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My first cats, some 35 years ago, were brothers. Jet black, couldn't tell them apart so I put a red collar on one, blue on the other. Named them Pete & RePete.
Thom
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MikeMc
Social climber
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Love me some Kittehs. Had one or more with me for the last 45 years.
Tessa (RIP)
Fluffy (RIP)
Rhubarb (RIP)
Saille (RIP)
Schrodinger (RIP or not)
and the current twins Loki & Freyja
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