My parents recently adopted a gorgeous, 10-year-old black female cat from the Cape Cod MSPCA shelter. There hasn’t been a cat in their house since our beloved Italian cat, Micia, died, many years ago, at age 17. I’d rescued Micia as a kitten in a field near Florence (long story), and she came with us, of course, when we moved from Italy back to the U.S.A. That would have been in the early 1980s…I was in my early 20s, and Micia was barely more than a kitten at the time…

Anyway, because of our wonderful Micia, my parents and I have always had a “thing” for black cats. Amazingly, though, most people don’t like black cats, mainly based on ancient (absurd!!!) superstitions.

In the Middle Ages, e.g., black cats were associated with witches and witchcraft, and millions of them (yes, millions) were tortured and killed all over Europe. It’s a wonder that ANY black cats made it to this century! And even today, in Italy, it is said that if a black cat crosses your path, you have to turn around and go in the opposite direction. I don’t know anyone who actually does that, but I’ve been told that it still happens…

What this means, though, is that black cats are less than half as likely to be adopted from a cat shelter than gray cats. So sad, but true: http://goo.gl/6rSdfS

Well, here’s a news flash: we’re not in the Middle Ages anymore. And black cats, like all cats, are wonderful, devoted life companions.

But this post is really about Muffet, my parents’ new furry companion…

Here is what the MSPCA had originally posted about Muffet (accompanied by a photo): “Hello, my name is Muffet. I am a 10 year old black short-haired kitty. I was brought to the adoption center because I was nervous around the grandchildren, because of this I would do best in a home with older children. I am an affectionate, quiet, lap cat. Please stop by the adoption center to meet me.” Now, I don’t know how long this link will be available online, but it’s been there for a couple of weeks, and today it’s still there, so you can check it out, if you want: http://goo.gl/UXZ33R

So Muffet was taken to the cat shelter because she got “NERVOUS” around the grandchildren, huh??? I mean, instead of showing the grandchildren how to treat an older cat, the grandparents chose to get rid of her. Oh boy, that’s a great lesson to teach the grandchilden, isn’t it? Shameful.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated story. It happens a lot. And it makes me so incredibly angry.

Stupid humans.

Anyway, after reading this online post, Mom and Dad fell in love with Muffet and decided to adopt her…without even seeing her. They knew that Muffet probably would never find a home mainly because of her age. Most people want kittens, or at the most young cats. Not many people will adopt a 10-year-old cat, especially a black one. And in fact, when Mom and Dad arrived at the shelter and announced that they were there for Muffet, one of the volunteers rushed over to hug my Mom. It turned out that Muffet had been at the shelter for NINE months…

Well, I want to tell you that Muffet is the PERFECT cat for my parents. She is absolutely LOVELY, in every sense of the word. My parents have gone absolutely bonkers over her and talk about nothing else, practically. What she eats, what she does, where she goes, etc. It’s all about super Muffet. As it should be.

Muffet is a purring lap cat. She follows my parents around, sits in their laps, looks at them with love and devotion, climbs over them while they Skype with me, sleeps all cuddled up with them at night, and plays with her new toys. She is such an incredibly happy cat. But I don’t think she could possibly be as happy as my parents are…

Thank you, sweet Muffet (my Mom also calls her “Amore,” which means “Love” in Italian)…

And thank you, MSPCA (about 10 days ago, I wrote the MSPCA a private thank-you note, by the way, to which I received an enthusiastic response, which was verrrrry nice…I will send them the link to this post, too…).

The only thing I don’t have is a photo of Muffet in her new forever home, and I won’t have one until I go visit my parents (= in April)…But, if you hurry, you will be able to see a photo of her in the link above (a photo taken of course at the shelter)… 🙂