The Kitten That Nobody Wanted
@owlwings (43915)
Cambridge, England
June 6, 2016 11:50am CST
Whilst I was out yesterday eating a Chicken Dhansak with my brother at a local Indian Restaurant (and very good it was, too), my grand-daughter arrived with a 10 week old kitten. All of his siblings had been sold for between £30 and £100 each but this little chap was pure black (except for a few white wisps under his chin) and nobody, it seems, wants black cats.
Now, I consider black cats especially lucky but a new cat was the last thing I was thinking of getting, so I didn't really want him either! His perpetual mewing, however, (which was as much to say "I am desperately frightened and lonely and I can't find the litter box!") touched me and so I have a new cat.
He's a dear little soul, really (aren't all kittens?) and today I have been trying to make friends with him. He is still very scared of great hoomins reaching out with their hands to pick him up but, once settled in one's arms he does rather think that strokes are OK and has deigned to purr. He was also rather taken with a feather bouncy toy on a string and has learned to leap for it and catch it. That was quite fun!
It does take a while for a small person to get used to all the new places and smells and sounds - not to mention encountering glass for the first time! You can see through it, yet it feels and sounds like something solid ... very remarkable!
I'm not sure that I've chosen the best picture of him to post. I may have to change it! Please meet Mephistopheles. 
30 people like this
32 responses
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
6 Jun 16
You are a big old softie at heart aren't you!!! Glad you have a new kitten. I hope you have a nickname for that long name! No photo.
2 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
6 Jun 16
@owlwings OK now I see him - he has long legs! Another thing they love is a wadded up piece of tin foil...and it's almost free!
1 person likes this
@petatonicsca (7070)
• Japan
14 Oct 16
@AbbyGreenhill Mine play field hockey with bottle caps-- the plastic ones, which I collect for a charity.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (74114)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Jun 16
@owlwings My gosh that is some tongue tying name for such a small fellow. He is adorable though so congrats with you new furry son. Our adopted Sid knows what it's like to be frightened in a new situation but at least he was four when we adopted him but still scared. He sends Mephistopheles his sincerest meows and welcomes.
3 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
6 Jun 16
It is weird how superstitions are different from a country to another one. In France black cats are supposed to bring bad luck. I have had one called Whiskey : he was black with a little bit of white under the chin.
I hope that the pact you made with Mephistopheles will bring you a lot of good luck.
.1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
9 Jun 16
Some people consider black cats lucky and others consider them unlucky but usually it seems to depend on how you meet them - whether they cross your path or whether they greet you in a friendly manner or something like that. I believe that owning a black cat is often considered lucky, though, in the past, black cats were associated with witches and thought to be personifications of the 'familiars' (small demons which the witches had under their power).
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
9 Jun 16
@topffer He does have a very few white hairs under his chin. So few that it looks like a grey patch rather than a white one. I shall have to see if I can remove one. I hadn't heard that superstition.
You probably know of the cabaret club, "Le Chat Noir" which flourished in Montmartre in the late 19th Century. The posters for it have become very popular in the last few years.
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
9 Jun 16
@owlwings I forgot completely the witches. They certainly played a role in the reputation of black cats.
In France I think that it mainly depends of the area where you live, and in the one where I live now they are bringing bad luck each time you see one
. Pierre Loti, a French 19/20th C writer from this area was so afraid by black cats that he was refusing to sleep in a house if there was a black cat in it.
There is an interesting superstition in Brittany telling that any black cat has a white hair : if you find it and pull it out, it will act as a talisman bringing luck. You should perhaps try to find it on Mephistopheles
?
. Pierre Loti, a French 19/20th C writer from this area was so afraid by black cats that he was refusing to sleep in a house if there was a black cat in it.
There is an interesting superstition in Brittany telling that any black cat has a white hair : if you find it and pull it out, it will act as a talisman bringing luck. You should perhaps try to find it on Mephistopheles?1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (36580)
• Toccoa, Georgia
6 Jun 16
Awe, how sweet that is! I am sure the kitty cat will love having you as his parent :)
2 people like this
@petatonicsca (7070)
• Japan
14 Oct 16
So here I am four months later just seeing this post. How is the kitty now?
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
14 Oct 16
He's getting to be a big cat with an impish sense of humour. He is quite keen on cookery and is fascinated by the preparation of vegetables. His favourite toys are potatoes (which he fetches out of the potato sack and uses as wonky footballs), brussels sprouts, small tomatoes or cherries and string beans (which he hides under the mat and then pretends he's found).
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
14 Oct 16
@petatonicsca Loquats or Kumquats would be ideal because they're oval and therefore roll unpredictably. Banana peels? Mad!
@petatonicsca (7070)
• Japan
14 Oct 16
@owlwings I had a cat that would do that with fruit: loquats off my tree, banana peels, and persimmons in particular.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (157873)
• United States
17 Jul 16
The Devil you say!! It is amazing the amount of life a small kitten brings to a house.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
17 Jul 16
There are times when all we see of him is a streak of black lightning.
@marsha32 (6631)
• United States
2 Jul 16
We have a black kitten that needs a home that is all black with wisps of white under his chin. My grandson's girlfriend says she is taking him, but I really don't think she will.
We give them away free, but really really need to get mama kitty spayed!
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
3 Jul 16
I don't know why nobody seems to want black kittens. I think that an all black cat is so smart and special and, if there is any 'luck' involved, owners of black cats are just as 'lucky' as any other cat owner, if not more so!
I have always had all my cats neutered as soon as it was possible. Mephistopheles is due for his operation next week, I believe. I have only had one female cat and she came to us already neutered. I have heard that it is a good idea to let females have one litter because that tends to make them more gentle after they have been spayed.
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
7 Jun 16
i've always been partial to black cats myself. so glad that'cher heart melted'n this lil fella's now a part'f yer family :)
gigglin' o'er the glass incident (s?). i've that trouble here with the birds outdoors, lol.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
7 Jun 16
Birds definitely get confused by windows. They either see another bird in there and try to fight their own reflection (car wing mirrors and even shiny black cars are also a favourite) or they just see more sky and try to fly through it.
I live in a fairly built-up area and we never see pheasants normally but a while back a stray hen pheasant flew straight into a neighbour's window and broke he neck. The neighbour didn't know what to do with the bird, so I took it to a local butcher who plucked and drew it for me (I'm not competent with that sort of stuff) and I made a very nice paté from the (rather small amount of) meat!
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
7 Jun 16
@owlwings the birds here see the reflection 'f my wee sanctuary 'n the blue sky beyond. the other eve 2 were fightin' 'n knocked 'emselves silly (stunned, i thought they'd done somethin' akin to that poor pheasant ya mentioned). when they heard me callin' off the pup's i was roundin' the house, they both flew'p into the grape arbor, sittin' there fer a good 30 minutes shakin' their heads from time to time.
't least ya didn't let the poor dear go to waste :)
1 person likes this
@puddleglum (1380)
• United States
6 Jun 16
You, dear sir, are a hero in my book! He is so cute and I love the name.
I have two black cats, that I rescued, and they are quite lucky. The first one took some time to get used to me also. He lurked in the shadows and only came out for fish, so I named him Smeagol. We get along fine now.
1 person likes this
@puddleglum (1380)
• United States
7 Jun 16
@owlwings Cats are certainly stealthy.
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@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
7 Jun 16
he's lovely ... a good photo.... I love watching them learn about their surroundings ... we had a puppy last year and have enjoyed watching his little journey ... it is fun... and Mephistopheles sounds like he's found himself a very good home....
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
7 Jun 16
Oh how precious @owlwings and I love the name.
1 person likes this
