Today is Black Cat Appreciation Day. And in a strange twist of fate, a black cat from New York is spending part of it in Texarkana.
Luna was traveling through Texarkana with her human family when she became lost while they were staying in a local hotel. The family looked for Luna but had to leave without her when she was nowhere to be found, said Charles Lokey, director of Texarkana Animal Care and Adoption Center.
A day later, Luna was found hiding under the box springs on a hotel bed. Her family was contacted and they will be returning to Texarkana today to pick her up, Lokey said.
On Wednesday, Luna was hanging out in the lobby of the adoption center.
"She's sweet but she was scared to death when they found her in the hotel," Lokey said.
Black cats have often had a bad reputation and are the hardest cats to find homes for.
"There have so many stories and stigmas about them through history, and some of it still around today," Lokey said. "Personality wise, they some of the most loving cats," he said.
Lokey always tries to promote the black cats. The only exception to that is around Halloween when he fears some of the cats might be adopted for pranks or rituals.
"We do a hard vetting of our adopters in October," he said.
The adoption center has one black cat on the adoption floor today. His name is Shadow and he was brought in as a stray.
According to nationaltoday.com, there are many interesting facts about black cats:
- In Great Britain, black cats are thought to bring good luck, while in Germany, if a black cat crosses your path from the right, it is said to bring prosperity.
- Dark fur is practical. Research shows that black cats may have developed dark hair to fight off disease, meaning their fur is more than beautiful-it's useful, too.
- Due to a special pigment called melanin in their fur, when out in the sun, many black cats will temporarily turn a dark brown color, as if they were "rusting."
- Black cats have an excess of melanin, a pigment that causes dark coloration. Coincidentally, melanin also causes their irises to be yellow.
To learn more about National Black Cat Appreciation Day, visit nationaltoday.com.