Tag Archives: fleas

AMC Veterinarians Save a Black Kitten Just in Time for National Black Cat Appreciation Day

A black kitten with an IV
August 17th is National Black Cat Appreciation Day. This is a much-needed holiday as black cats have been unfairly maligned since the Middle Ages. In a Papal Bull issued in 1232, Pope Gregory IX damned black cats as the incarnation of Satan. Several centuries later, another Pope, Innocent VIII, linked cats, the devil and witches by writing, “The cat is the devil’s favorite animal and idol of all witches.” At the time of the Salem witch trials in colonial Massachusetts, witches were thought to transform into black cats who could roam the countryside and cause mischief.  These superstitions have led to “black cat bias,” a term applied to the negative feelings people have about black cats, compared to cats with other coat colors. Black cat bias may also lead to longer shelter stays for black cats relinquished to an animal shelter. Today’s blogpost will focus on one of these unfortunate black cats, a five-week-old, flea-infested black kitten, brought to AMC by a Good Samaritan. This little waif was covered with so many fleas, she had become anemic. The photo accompanying the blogpost shows her in her ICU incubator with an IV catheter in her arm for her blood transfusion.