Black cat sends for an immediate reaction in a human - either love or hate. Some people consider such cats to bring luck, others, conversely, suppose that black cats are the incarnate of evil. But leave aside prejudices! Black cats are quite attractive creatures, loving, emotional and communicative. They possess a cheerful temper, are able to stand up for themselves and perfectly aware of their place in life.
The intensity of pigment metabolism in black cats determines a high level of protective substances in the organism, which contribute to a good health and high immunity of animals to viral diseases. Most of black cats are active but not aggressive. They have been considered to the best mouse and rat hunters for ages. Even in a town flat where there are no rodents they persistently chase flies and cockroaches.
Black color in Persians and Britain cats, for example, reckons as the oldest sort of coloring. During the first general exhibition of cats in London in 1871 black cats were described as "the most popular and most difficult to get ones".
Indeed, very few among ordinary domestic cats can take proud in having a perfectly black hair. More often animals with white shirtfront, whiskers or charming white socks are found. Why does this happen then?
The history of such coloring goes back into the past. Ancient Phoenicians brought the ancestors of black cats from Egypt, where they regarded as sacred animals. Black cats began to be held in high respect among people, perhaps, because being almost imperceptible at night due to the "camouflage" they, caught rodents very effectively.
IN the middle Ages black cats were suspected of relationship with the evil spirit. Indeed: bright black hair, eyes shining in the darkness, marvelous ability to disappear into night - aren't these signs of belonging to a world of darkness? It was black cats that were regarded as being entitled to visiting witches' Sabbaths. Witches, in their part, could turn into black cats by perforce.
Christian Church in the name of struggle with the universe evil unmercifully punished poor old ladies who had unfortunately chosen a black pussy as a companion, and even arranged annual cremation of black cats alive on the St. John's Day. But there was a small opportunity for a black cat to escape from auto-da-fe. In the minister's of religion opinion a servant of devil should be entirely black. Any white hair was regarded as a saving divine sign. Thus prejudices have slightly changed the course of natural selection.
IN the XVII century when persecutions began to come to naught, black cats run the new trouble: a belief that they were an unfailing remedy of a number of different disorders had spread. For example there was an opinion as though a black cat's tail buried under the threshold guarded all the family members from diseases and bad health. Edward Topsell, an English naturalist, in 1658 wrote, that to cure blindness one should prepare a medicine using a black cat's head. In that way, medical quackery came to take the place of a religion terror.
Thus one shouldn't be surprised that today most black cats have white "patches" - the effective remedy of a human stupidity.
Nowadays, by fortune, the only bequest we have possessed from that somber period in the history of caudate martyrs is a token about a black cat that crosses one's road. Sometimes even a police patrol was scared to keep on going along the street if a black cat had crossed their way.
Sometimes the meaning of a token has been changed into diametrically opposite. Thus on the East people consider that just a black cat cures different diseases and favors fishing through a touch. And in Great Britain a cat that crosses one's way portends good luck. The history of these "happy" superstitions goes back to Ancient Egypt where sacred animals ostensibly had a direct contact with gods. Association between a black cat and a good luck may also have originated from the following logical point: if after a black cat had crossed your way you didn't suffer than your were very lucky. From this it is follows that if a black cat came into your house and met a good welcome you'll in turn get happiness and be liked by it's master - Satan; others may suffer from Him - not you.
An old English token says: "If a black cat lives in the house, love will always be there".
Prejudices have deep roots inside human soils. Thus English king Carl I had a black cat, which, he thought, beneficially influenced his fate. He was so afraid to lose his pet that used to order guards to watch his cat. But one day the cat died. "I will never be lucky!" - the king exclaimed. Next day he was arrested and after several months they cut off his head.
As early as in Ancient Egypt black cats were attributed to have magic power. Through centuries this notion haven't changed. Today many physicians recommend a black cat to keep at home: because they possess a strong energy, black cats eagerly communicate with people, and take away the negative energy excess. Especially they like to sleep on the chest or head of their master that may be equal to a dose of medicine: 10-15 minutes of a cat's "therapy" before sleep will take away tiredness and head ache.
The peculiar feature to arrange a unique comfort, have made black cats constant sailor companions. Little tidy rodent hunters especially attractive by their mysterious habits and abilities have become perfect ship animals. The first black cat, which sailed in America on a ship of Colombo, many times helped to escape from danger in along traveling and supposedly could forebode storm and predict weather. Even nowadays many sailors consider that a cat sleeps near the board that is closer to home.
Why then black coloring in cats has such a unique glitter and charm? What is the holder's interest and how to treat it right?
Black color s well as red refers to main colors. Melanin pigment in case of black coloring is eumelanin, and in case of red color it is feomelanin. All other different cat colorings (except for white) just derive from these two colors. Black color of hair is formed under control of B gene (black) that defines the entire pigmentation. Pigment evenly distributes along the hair axis from the root and to the tip. The hair itself is firm; horn cells border each other tightly. That's why the hair of black cats is always shiny, bright and resembles the color of raven's wing. The color of under hair and coating hair in adult ones is almost the same. Color development in kittens goes through silver or brown temporary colors. The silver temporary color is preferable. It is considered that these kittens would have more thick and bright, than those that have brown color. Final formation of coloring in shorthaired breeds takes place by 12-15 months and 1,5-2 years in longhaired ones.
Black color with a special precious play in oriental (Eastern shorthaired) cats is called "ebony". Their hair is short, toughly adjacent to body and soft by touch.
Britain cats have under hair that is of the same length as beard hair, so that a black tone of hair is deeper, velvet and absorbing light - as soot.
Shorthaired Persians, exotics beard hair is somewhat longer than under hair, so their hair has a unique shine.
Hair of adult Persians is of still, black tone and very loose. Because the beard hair is very firm it serves as a wonderful support to a soft, thick under hair, that's why a hair of black Persians is almost never adjoins body. The contrast of a black coat with orange eyes provides a remarkably attractive appearance to these animals.
Hairs of white or blue color consider as a drawback of coloring. Even if there are only several white hairs in critical points (chest, arm-pits, belly) the animal is not admitted to breeding as a carrier of "white spotting".
Black gene (B) - gene of a black coloring - is dominant and masks some recessive genes:
- a clarifier gene, allows one to get kittens of blue color from such sire;
- gene B (chocolate coloring) gives an opportunity to get kittens of chocolate color, or, together with a clarifier gene, lilac color;
- Siamese color gene is interesting by the opportunity to get litter with Siamese marks, including blue, lilac and chocolate ones (in the presence of a clarifier gene along with chocolate color gene).
To define whether these genes are presented one should study the sire pedigree or conduction a series of experiments, changing partners. But if to get litter with a color close to ideal one should follow the rule: to mate similar specimen. One may achieve a good result if would select as couple for a black female cat a male of black, red, seal-point color, black tabby or white (having black, red or tortoise ancestors in his pedigree).
Often, black animals especially of extreme breeds represent carriers of strong type. Therefore they are used to improve the type of animals of Siamese, smoky colorings, bicolor cats and even chinchillas. But we nevertheless don't recommend the beginners to experiment with breeding.
Unfortunately, ideal black color easily turns into fulvous-brown under the influence of moisture, sunlight, different chemical substances in saliva and urine and other secretions, especially in longhaired animals. Often one can see Persians with brown spots on limbs, chest and chin. Shorthaired cats may burn down in summer so that their hair becomes red.
The black color of nose mirror and pads serve as criteria to define whether a cat has a given color (chocolate animals, in contrast to black ones have pads and nose of a color of milk chocolate). Spots on the tip of nose, framing around eyes, lips and pads are the evidence of discrepancy of extrinsic color and color, recorded in genotype. Though more light spots on mucous membranes in old animals represent age alternations only.
Bathing is very useful for the black cats particularly with special shampoos that make the color of hair brighter. Hair becomes softer, easier to comb out silver, dieing off hairs. To make a hair of a shorthaired cat shiny one is to use a suede mitten and different sprays. For longhaired ones one is to use conditioners on seaweeds and antistatic sprays. One should very carefully use dry shampoos and black powder in order that the hair not to lose its' shine and the refined region to be unnoticeable.
Young animals sometimes are needed to be trimmed so that the hair replacement to be easier and quicker. Before exhibition one must remove single white hairs by means of tweezers.
Nevertheless the pledge of a really good black color is the correct diet: besides well-balanced ration one must add daily some drops of beta-carotene and 3-4 vitamin pills with seaweeds in food.
Translated by Tatiana Karpova (Moscow)
(MSU, Biology faculture, Dep. zoology and ecology).