Black Cats

Most people have heard of The Black Dog because of Winston Churchill, but no-one seems to know about black cats. The Black Dog is how Churchill described his depression, a huge dark hound following him wherever he went, relentlessly. What he didn’t know was that words create stories which create realities... In a way The Black Dog is as real as he describes, if you know how to look between the light and the shadows. All cats have a sense of the in-between places, what humans might call ‘supernatural’ or ‘spiritual realm’ but black cats are special. There’s a reason we exist in folklore and fairytales, as witches familiars and in forbidden places. We cannot only see the supernatural, we can communicate between realms too. My sister and I are a bonded pair, and our human is frequently visited by the Black Dog. Unfortunately, human stories have only revealed a distortion of the truth we see, and so we try to help our human with her Black Dog as much as we can.  You see, the Black Dog isn’t inherently malicious or cruel. He is created out of despair and tethered to his human through a shared bond of sadness and stories made real by the re-telling. Elsewhere what we call depression may appear in a different shape but here, it’s often the Black Dog. My sister and I went to wake our human at the usual time, and saw him there on the bed next to her. ‘Hello again, Dog’ I miaowed. He raised his huge shaggy head a little in our direction ‘Mphf’ he sighed. ‘Oh dear. It’s like that is it?’ ‘Pffft’ he sighed again. I jumped up onto my human and padded over her to put a paw on her cheek. For some reason she thinks it’s funny, so it’s a good way to wake her a little. I’m rewarded by a small smile ‘Mmf morning Arabella’ ‘Time for breakfast!’ I miaow. She still has her eyes closed. I sit on her chest and put my nose to hers so my whiskers tickle her face, my paws on her collarbone. She giggles a little and the Black Dog wags his fluffy tail ever so slightly. It’s a good sign. Some mornings she just stares dully into space no matter what I do. One time my sister-cat and I had to miaow for 10 minutes in cannon before she even blinked.  This morning it’s easier. ‘Eurgh, I had nightmares again Arabella’ she says, tickling me under my chin so I purr. ‘Food will help you feel better’ I miaow ‘It works for me.’ Out of the corner of my eye I spot my sister-cat stick her head around the doorframe. ‘Me too’ miaows Roxie, slinking her way past the bed and jumping up expertly to the window. ‘Look, it’s sunny again.’ The Black Dog raises his head a little to look at her, but all we can see is her smooth black tail waving back and forth under the curtains. Our human giggles at her ‘You’re so funny Roxie’ she says yawning and stretching slightly. I jump off her and sit patiently by the door, waiting for her to make a move. ‘I suppose I could eat a little something’ comes a slightly muffled voice. The Black Dog has shoved his nose back into the duvet but has his eyes open, looking up at me from under his droopy eyelids. ‘Ok kittens, I’m coming, I’m coming’ our human says. Today is a good day. She slowly sits up and swings her legs out, pausing before she heaves herself up. Behind her, the Black Dog slowly lumbers onto his paws and thuds onto the floor. Roxie and I race down the stairs into the kitchen to sit by our bowls. We hear the slow, heavy thud of our human trailed by the Black Dog. It sounds like every step takes a monumental effort, and for her, it does, because wherever she goes, the weight of the Black Dog is tethered to her spirit, siphoning away her energy.  That’s why she needs us to help, you see. Some days, without us to miaow her into getting out of bed to feed us, I don’t think she would get up at all. And once she’s here, most of the time, she feeds herself too. It’s bittersweet for us to know that she loves us enough to make herself get up to care for us when we know she wouldn’t do it for herself. ‘So, salmon today, she says, waving a packet in our direction?’ ‘Ooooh lovely’ chirrups Roxie, ‘Yes please’ I miaow ‘Sooner rather than later, ideally, I’m really quite hungry’ As we gobble down our breakfast she yawns and makes some coffee and a bowl of cereal. The Black Dog sniffs the air to catch the scent of coffee brewing and his tail gets a little more waggy. ‘Swap?’ chirrups Roxie ‘Yes of course’ I mew. ‘After you’ I move back from my current bowl so Roxie can finish it. ‘Why thank you’ she purrs as I pad around her to the other bowl. Our human laughs at how we swap bowls half way through a meal too, but it’s the only way to make sure we get a fair share of all the best bits. I think we’re very considerate.  She sits on the sofa while we have a post-breakfast groom and sighs. The Black Dog pads heavily after her and flops at her feet ‘I’m supposed to go out today, but I’m just so tired’ she says sleepily. I jump up gracefully onto the sofa and headbutt her leg so she scratches behind my ears ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if you could come with me?’ she says. ‘Mmmmm’ I purr ‘No thanks’ miaows Roxie from under the table, big yellow eyes gleaming in the shadows ‘People are scary. Pigeon!’ We both turn sharply to fixated on the fluttering bird outside. (What? We might be spiritually inclined but we’re still cats. Typing this has been quite the challenge) It flies off and we settle back down. ‘People are scary’ mumbles the black dog ‘they always want something from you. And outside is busy and noisy. I like inside.’ ‘I don’t know if I have the energy today.’ Our human yawns again. ‘But I haven’t seen Aurelia for ages. Eurgh why does everything have to be this hard.’ She looks all sad so I put my front paws on her knees so I can look at her properly ‘You enjoy seeing Aurelia and you can go to that cafe you like.’ I miaow ‘I like Aurelia’ purrs Roxie as she rolls onto her back, paws in the air ‘She tells us we’re beautiful’ The Black Dog raises their head a little and their tail wags ever so slightly ‘Aurelia is nice and that cafe does have the delicious hot chocolate’ he mumbles thoughtfully.  ‘I know, let’s have a little playtime first just to get you going’ I mew. I jump across her onto the arm of the sofa and onto the floor, then crouch down a little way away from her big black boots with the long shoelaces. I focus and start to do the bum wiggle that always makes humans laugh. They may think it’s silly but it’s an important part of pre-pounce preparation, especially when you are hunting tricksy shoelaces. Obviously I time it perfectly and they are immediately in my clutches. She laughs again ‘You’re so clever Arabella, excellent hunting’ I suspect she may be humouring me a little, but it’s ok. I know what a fierce hunter I am. I walk away with my chin and tail held high. ‘Good work’ purrups Roxie ‘Thank you’ I incline my head towards her graciously then sit to wash nonchalantly like I haven’t just defeated the terrifying and extremely dangerous shoelaces.  ‘Mmmm ok I guess I’ll have shower’ our human stretches and heaves herself from the cushions. She walks slowly to the bathroom, the black dog at her heel, but at least she’s going there instead of back to bed. This is usually the most precarious time for her, when we have a chance to help nudge her and the Black Dog  towards a more productive day but it’s easy to just go back to sleep. We have to judge it carefully though, some days she feels better going out, but some days she really just needs to go back to bed to rest, and let the black dog have his way for a time.  As the sound of the shower’s gushing waterfall starts in the background, Roxie and I take the opportunity for a quick wash ourselves. It’s nice to have a sister cat to help groom those awkward little places even cats can’t quite get to, plus our human thinks it’s adorable, so we get treats. In the meantime, our human has managed to make it back up the stairs, wrapped in a big towel, The Black Dog giving itself a half-hearted shake and dripping slowly behind her. But then we hear the unmistakable sound of a human female throwing all her clothes on the bed in frustration. ‘Oh dear.’ We say, our ears pricking up as the clash of hangers clanging together disturbs the peace required for a really relaxing grooming. ‘I’d better go and see what’s happening’ I mew, stretching and bounding up the stairs. Inevitably I appear at the door just as a flying floral fabric falls onto the exact spot I’m standing on ‘Eeeek!’ I miaow ‘Careful with that!’ ‘Oh I’m so sorry!’ She apologises and comes over to scratch my cheek. I huff a little, because you can’t let that sort of thing go unremarked upon or humans start thinking cats are tiny cute clothes hangers. (Don’t even get me started on outfits for cats, why would you cover up the most gorgeous coat you could ever want? WHY? Honestly, some humans.) ‘Nothing looks right Arabella’ she sighs ‘It’s all wrong and I haven’t done washing for ages so nothing matches and I just want to be invisible until I see Aurelia anyway.’ The Black Dog is slumped dangerously close to the bed, eyeing the duvet longingly. I need to inject a bit of enthusiasm into dressing. ‘That’s why fur is so good’ I point out, just in case she gets any ideas from the previous incident ‘I literally woke up like this’ I purr, padding round in a little circle so she can admire me in my entire glory. ‘Awww you are so cute’ she smiles, so I purr a bit louder and lean in to her scratches. Meanwhile Roxie comes padding in behind me and gives her a quick headbutt on the arm ‘I bet we can find something’ she chirrups ‘everyone knows cats have an innate elegance’ Then she starts to bat at the fringing on a scarf draped over the door, and falls over in her excitement, ruining the sentiment somewhat. She styles it out obviously, by just rolling onto her back, paws in the air, and makes our human giggle. ‘You like that one Roxie?’ She says smiling again. Roxie shows her approval by chewing the fringe edges a little ‘Mmmph’ she mews. I pad around them to a shiny, soft pile of fabric on the bottom of the wardrobe and give it an experimental paw ‘What about this?’ I mew ‘It feels nice on my toe beans’ ‘Aha!’ Our human says happily ‘I’d forgotten about that dress, it must have fallen off the hanger. Well done Arabella!’ Even the Black Dog has raised his head to admire my amazing discovery. I sit and lick my paw nonchalantly ‘Oh it’s no bother’ I purr. I duck as she holds the dress up against her and swishes it around ‘We’ll leave you to it then’ I purrup and hop down the stairs. (Just so you know, all cats hate going downstairs. We have to hop like bunnies and it looks ridiculous and completely beneath our dignity. However, we do like stretching out on the steps and peering through the banisters so I suppose you can’t have everything) I hear Roxie sneeze as our human dusts on that face powder that is apparently not for cats to play with, and then follow me onto the sofa. We resume our grooming routine, having to start again since we were interrupted the first time. By the time our human comes downstairs, Black Dog at her side, we are about ready for our mid morning snooze. ‘Ok’ she says ‘I’m going to be brave and go outside. But I’m afraid I’ll need my jacket back, kittens.’ ‘Your jacket?’ I query, turning to Roxy ‘isn’t this our jacket?’ I ask her ‘It’s got our fur on it’ she yawns ‘but we do let her borrow it sometimes.’ ‘Ah yes,’ I purr ‘we’re good like that. I suppose we could move onto the snuggle blanket, since we’re feeling kind’ We drag ourselves over onto the other end of the sofa and flop down on the fluffy pile we keep there for napping. Our human has put on the boots we play with, but we let her borrow those too. ‘Thank you, kittens’ she says, giving us both a scratch on the head ‘You’re welcome’ we purr sleepily. It’s nice to be appreciated when we do so much for our human. The Black Dog nuzzles us on his way past ‘I suppose going out might not be terrible’ he says in his snuffley way ‘See you later. Assuming we make it back without something awful happening of course’ It may not sound like it, but for him that’s actually quite cheerful. ‘We’ll be here.’ I purr softly ‘Whatever happens.’