A Black Cat With Personality!

Posted on by Joyful2bee

Her name, now Norie, comes from the Japanese name Nori, the black algae used to wrap sushi. I am one of the growing number of people who admire and love black cats. (I love all cats but am partial to black ones).

Nori belonged to my second son and his wife for her first year of life. They adopted her as a blue eyed baby at a rescue site. She had cat herpes, common to feral cats. This is not like human herpes. It often causes matting of the eyes and potential eye or respiratory infections or blindness without a medicine.

Black kitten with older silver cat.

When I first saw her I was impressed with her friendliness and playfulness. Then as her personality grew she was curious about everything. She watched her humans as they carried out their day to day routines. My son and his wife medicated and cared for her until she became healthy.

After moving from a house to a one bedroom apartment with four pets, they felt overwhelmed with their care and needed some help, I asked if I could have Nori. From previous visits I knew she was a perfect fit for me.

When they gave her to me, I had never been owned by a cat, so I had no idea what I was in for until she joined me in my home. I added an “e” to the end of her name for some reason and she became Norie.

Black cat with protective cone on neck.
Neck cone to protect stitches.

As soon as possible I got her spayed. She recovered after a week of wearing the “cone” around her neck to protect the stitches and keep her from licking them and dissolving them.

I was amazed at how resilient Norie was at adapting to this collar. She had to learn how to jump up on a counter without catching the collar’s edge on the counter’s edge, causing her to fall. She figured that out in two or three tries.

Then there was the issue of eating and drinking. The front edge of the cone precluded her mouth reaching the water if approached in the normal way. She figured out to lower the cone’s edge and reach over it to get to the water.

Dry food was a bit easier. She scooped up some with the collar, tilted her head back and the food came right to her mouth. Smart cat! Soon life resumed normalcy for her and our lives got even better.

I am invisible here, you can not see me.
What are you doing now?

Norie has an amazing curiosity. In my old home she jumped from the counter top to the top of the refrigerator and then up on the top of the cabinets around my kitchen. I noticed the care she took to walk between decorative baskets to keep from knocking them down. She would then perch above me and watch as I loaded the dish washer or cooked. Norie seemed to find me as fascinating as I found her to be.

Norie could sleep pretty much anywhere. But at night she loved to sleep behind or between my knees, in a little circle. Imagine my surprise when I found out that cats snore!

Norie with her mixed prizes.
Wonder how many more I can get under the refrigerator.

Hoarding is one of Norie’s hobbies. Her eyes light up and she silently meows or gives a little squeak when she sees a straw. In the past she pulled straws out of cups left on the counter at night. Then she stuffed them under the refrigerator along with bottle caps, small shiny things, bread bag ties and anything long and plastic.

I saw her reaching under the refrigerator once and assumed she was trying to reach something so I “helped” her pull it out. She pushed it right back under the refrigerator. She knew where she wanted it and in essence told me to leave it where it was.

She loves for me to blow bubbles for her and watches with wonder as they float down but then suddenly will pounce on one just right for popping.

Black cat smiling at bubbles.
Should I try to eat it or pop it?

At our old home another hobby was to hunt in the garage, her box jungle! She climbed on boxes and the car, and even napped out there sometimes during the day. Now she enjoys our screened in porch and a closer and more personal view of lizards, birds and bugs.

Norie is quite a huntress. She’s caught and eaten silverfish, a cricket, a small spider and other bugs. She was delighted to bring in a lizard or two from the garage and even found some, after we moved, on our new screened in porch. Both of them were missing their tails. She didn’t eat them, she just wanted to play with them.

Norie enjoys chasing the laser light, ping pong balls, trying to catch pulled strings, and ribbons. She loves to hide under table cloths, blankets and waits for me to find her unless she falls asleep.

White on Black IMG_20131215_101813 - Copy

If she wants a treat she goes to the cabinet door below the one with the treats and partially opens the door and releases it. It shuts quickly with a bang because of the spring mechanism. She does this repeatedly until I leave the room or give her a treat!

She also has the most peculiar way of communicating. Sometimes she looks at me and moves her mouth like she is meowing but no sound comes out. I ask her what she wants, tell her to show me and I follow her to the cabinet door for a treat, or the porch or hallway door of our condominium home, when she needs some exercise.

Norie also loves to sit at the top of the stairs in the hall and listen to our neighbors’ television or just whatever is going on. I stay with her when she is in the hall because I want to be sure she doesn’t get into someone’s place to explore.

She is 14 years old and having a long and interesting life. She definitely makes my life more interesting and provides a lot of entertainment with her antics.

65 thoughts on “A Black Cat With Personality!”

        1. Mine is also about 7 and a half, & also hunts bugs! It creeps me out when he climbs onto my chest, puts his face into my face & just stares … although he does this to his daddy more than he does to me!

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  2. Apparently, the over-stimulation you mentioned with Norie is a common thing with black cats. We used to say Tennyson was a 2 stroke cat. Two good pettings and he had his fill. He would stay on your lap if you let him, just didn’t want to be petted anymore.

    Be careful with razors around the animal. Ours stole my husband’s with blade still in it, while we went away on an overnight camping trip. The razor was shinny, so he wanted it. Eventually found it on a different level of the house underneath the couch! It had been replaced due to needing to shave before the several months of searching was completed. Good news is we never found any cuts on the animals due to the razor.

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  4. Pingback: Understanding Cat Body Language | joyful2beeblogs

  6. Thank you for sharing! Our kitten showed up climbing on our screen meowing loudly. We live on a corner and thought that someone for sure dumped a litter nearby. Anyway it took my husband pulling out of the driveway in his truck leaving the meowing kitten in the middle of the empty driveway to call me and tell me to bring home kitten food. So much for my husband being the big old bad guy. Big softy! LOL.
    We didn’t know if we had a boy or a girl she was so young… I got another phone call… my husband said… well, I have good news and bad news… the good news is I found out Tripper (the name another story you can probably figure out) is a girl, the bad news is she just had two kittens under our bed. Oh and yeah!!!! The “IN HEAT” bit… No thanks! Got her fixed right away! And the cone… that lasted for less than a week!
    almost 7 years later… she thinks she owns us! Smile. And I am jealous, would love silent meows!

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  7. Pingback: Black Cat Appreciation Day-August 17 | joyful2beeblogs
  9. Pingback: Photos of Norie Growing Up – joyful2beeblogs
  10. Pingback: A Black Cat With Personality! – joyful2beeblogs

  16. I could swear Nori was actually smiling in one of your images. I imagine her personality makes her even more precious to you. I love her silky looking coat, and what I suspect is a bit of mystery in her stare. You may almost never hear people making as much fuss over yellow cats, or calico cats, or furry cats, or short-haired cats. It’s the infamous black cat that gets the most press. Fascinating!

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  18. What? I cannot believe I missed Black Cat Appreciation Month! Oh well, I appreciate my black cat every day and every month. She is hilarious.

    Norie sounds very intelligent and entertaining. That is what I love about cats. They are so entertaining. You are able to get such great shots of her. It has been a challenge with our black beauty. She just recently started allowing herself to be photographed. I find snapping a good photo of her a challenge. Her sister, no problem. All that black, a problem!

    Thanks for sharing about Norie!

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    1. Thank you! Yes, she is smart and lovable. I always wonder if everyone’s black cat is like her. But then they are like people in that each one is an individual. LOL. I appreciate your comments. As far as taking pictures, use a flash or good lighting. It reflects on their black hair and shows the contours of their bodies. Hope that helps. Good to know another black cat lover!!

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      1. My cat did not like her picture taken so trying to snap a quick one was all that I could do. But she might be a little more open to photos now. I often wonder if other black cats talk as much as my cat. She is a big time talker, her sister not so much. I feel as if Teagan is just talking and telling us things. Nessa only says something when she wants something.

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        1. Terrepruitt, I have been a photographer for several years. I learned that cats especially do not like the flash on a camera. They have the tapetum lucida behind their retina which reflects light back into the eye giving the light receptors more light to see with. So when we use a lash on the cat it’s a double whammy. I should not have recommended the flash. But perhaps a well lit room or a sunny window may give the same desired effect. If you use your phone for pictures, the flash can be turned off as well. Maybe this will help her let you take pictures of her without shying away if you repeatedly just use ambient light. Hope this helps> Good luck.

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          1. I rarely use the flash – hence, one reason why I can’t get a good photo. Ya kinda need a flash to light up the features on a black cats face! Thanks. She is just a funny cat. I mentioned somewhere that she wouldn’t even look us in the eye for about the first year! She is goofy! Thank you so much for you ideas!

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  19. I just fell in love with Norie ❤ What a cutie pie! I adored reading your stories about her. Especially the hoarding, how cute!! Their personalities are incredible. Each one is so different than the next too. Just like us. Black cats have definitely been maligned for absolutely no reason. Our ‘Dizzy’ was a rescue and she is black too. We love her to bits.

    Thanks for sharing about Norie. I’ve really enjoyed myself reading your words. Tons of purrs and lots of love heading y’alls way! 😻

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    1. AHHH. another black cat owner or ownee? Thank you! She makes me laugh every day. She is also a bug zapper. Last night a centipede crawled out on my kitchen floor. I only saw Norie go after something. She flipped it around but didn’t eat it. So I captured it, accidentally killing it. Then I praised her and gave her a treat!. She is a pantherette. Thank you! So delighted that you enjoyed my story. I love the “tons of purrs and lots of love”! That was so cute! Thank you!!

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  22. I don’t currently own a black cat, but I have worked with a lot of them in animal shelters and they are just the best!

    It’s a shame that such superstitious myths continue to follow them to this day. Thanks for spreading some truth about our panther-colored feline friends and for sharing you “Norie story” with us!

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  23. Thank you, KittycatEnthusiast. I love my Norie because she is so special. I have learned a lot about boundaries and respecting even a cat’s need to not be touched. She stays near me when I come back from a trip. I can tell she loves me. She makes me laugh when I do my exercises at night by laying down on her back with her feet in the air. She is 10 years old and I pray I have many more years with her..

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    1. I think she and I are connected. We get along so well. I agree. Stupidity of superstitions based solely on fear and ignorance are horrible for everyone. Not to mention other evils done to them! Thanks for commenting!

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  27. Thank you, bahnhof6, I learned a great deal about cats from watching YouTube videos by Jackson Galaxy. I earned her trust by treating her with respect and trying to keep my word. She is amazing to me but I never had a cat before her.

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  28. Love the feline photos. … Many of us can appreciate the reciprocally healthy — perhaps even somewhat symbiotic — relationships that can exist between pet cats and their loving and appreciative human hosts, especially if physical or mental illness is present. They have a beneficial influence over humanity that many people still cannot fathom; and this beautiful reality of their positive effect on their human hosts can also be beneficial to the animals themselves.

    Albeit, as a single man it’s not easy telling women I’m a feline fan. Even less so after reading a June 24, 2020, Toronto Now article headlined “Keep Cats Out of Your Dating Profile, Ridiculous Study Suggests” and sub-headlined “Men were deemed less masculine and less attractive when they held up cats in their dating pics, according to researchers”.

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    1. I think the women who think that are probably dog lovers only and don’t appreciate cats like many of us women do. The factor they may not be considering is the gentleness and sensitivity it takes to relate to cats; as well as the reciprocity from the cat of those same characteristics. Besides who cares what that article thinks. Be you and the right woman will see and appreciate you.

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      1. Though I also like a few canine breeds, I find pet cats to be considerably more soothing than dogs, in large part due to cats’ slower, almost graceful motions.

        Furthermore, there’s the silky soft fur and, also very important, their generally quieter nature and communicative purring and trilling, or an endearing combination of the two sounds.

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  29. My mother’s cat is black, as were her two previous pet felines — all special and ripe with personality.

    The second one was named Mimi, about whom I penned two poems, both essentially true stories involving her brazenly playful and adventurous character. One unforgettable account was related to me by my mother twenty-seven years ago. If it’s allowed, I’ve included it:

    THAT YOUNG BLACK CAT NEEDED SOMETHING (a mostly true story) … ‘If only I had something new,’ / she thought, ‘something adventurous / to do, like when the fields grew tall, fields from which wild fowl fed and flew’; / she, feline feisty and precious, / needed something or to climb the wall. // She walked over to the window pane / and looked out to the neighboring homes / to where she hoped to find something / —something new, beyond the back lane, / rocky road, where she’d often roam, / to where her eyes would be wandering. // And when her attention was caught / by the towering shingled roof / sheltering the large corner store, / she at once decided she ought / to climb to its black peak as proof / of her worth to those who did her adore. // Through the yards one by one she went, / glancing around this and that corner, / over then under fences tall / till she stood at the wall she’d meant / to conquer, as a foreigner, / without any fear that she’d fall. // She looked to the two garbage cans / leaning against the wooden shed, / right next to the store that was so pink; / up she jumped, her feet and hands / reached the top by but a thread, / of no better place could she think. // Having achieved her noteworthy climb, / she gazed over to the swaying trees, / unaware that her hostess stood near; / at the bus stop, as passed the time, / the woman looked up, into the breeze, / and saw her black pet cat who knew no fear. // Thus the feline had done something new / and not seeing her hostess’s stare, / she returned home fulfilled and content, / for from this day excitement she drew / and she thought again she’d climb and dare / those high places worthy of her scent.

    .

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    1. I love this story so well told. Norie’s adventures are going downstairs and visiting an elderly lady who has a storage room and dining room to explore. There seems to be a bit of explorer in these two cats of ours.

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