I’m about to get RULL crazy cat lady on this post. You’ve been warned. If you want to go right to the event details, you can skip The Abridged History of Cats I’ve Loved below and click here.
When I was younger, my family used to go to Nemacolin Woodlands Resort every year for Memorial Day Weekend. One of the activities we loved was trail riding horses as a family. The bonus cherry on top of that was that there was always a new litter of barn kittens to play with before and after the ride.
I had always wanted a black cat. Probably because of the witch shows and movies I loved as a little one. One year, there happened to be a black kitten that I immediately became attached to. I named it Gypsy and formulated a plan. It was a good plan. I was wearing one of those hoodies with the front pocket and while my parents were settling up at the stables, Gypsy the Kitty went into the pocket. We had to take a shuttle back to the main resort and Gypsy and I made it onto the shuttle before my mom noticed, which is actually further than what I thought. I had to return the kitten to the barn but I’ve never forgotten it.
Fast forward many, many years and my rescue tabby, Tabitha Suzanne, who I’d had since 4th grade, passed away at 16. It was truly devastating and she went downhill fast. In one night she went from acting a little funny to unable to move and she didn’t even make it to the vet the next morning when we were going to help her cross the rainbow bridge. She went in her own time with me holding her. (Sidebar I am now crying at my desk. Woof.) I spent the entire day on the floor of my bedroom watching this video and sobbing.
We decided to have her cremated and when we went to go pick her up, I fell apart again. Luckily, our vet knows us very well and they didn’t even bat an eye at this college grad standing holding her cat’s ashes and bawling her eyes out. Between sobs, I asked if they had any kittens I could look at to cheer me up. They actually had two that had been found by a former client in PG county.
One was a little black fluff. He was curled up in the back of his cage, looking terrified. They asked if I wanted to adopt him. I said I wasn’t ready. But then I was. The more I thought about it the more I feel like this cat and I needed each other. In less than a week, I had my sweet, scaredy little boy home with me. Simba. I tried to move him into DC with me later that year but he wasn’t crazy about it and my mom missed him so he want back to Laytonsville- he’s a country boy.
In the next year, we lost Jenny, Tabitha’s littermate, and Cookie- the scrawny little misfit my sister had found in Philly. Cookie and Simba had been best friends, and he stopped eating about a week after she died. My parents decided that he really needed a friend so they went to our local animal shelter and found Lupe Nala, another black cat. She’s a little older and was surrendered by her previous owners because their baby was horribly allergic. But she loved my parents right away and she has my dad wrapped around her little paw.
I told you- crazy cat lady. I come from a crazy cat family. In case you weren’t keeping track, that’s 5 rescue cats who have lived in the Downing household. And I have a special place in my heart for all black cats.
Did you know that black cats are less than half as likely to be adopted as gray cats? Some animal shelters even press pause on adopting out all-black cats close to the Halloween for fear that people will torture and abuse them. They have it rough.
Luckily, my pal Dani and I have the same vested interest in these majestic creatures. When I wanted to co-host a Halloween party with her, she jumped at the chance and it was her idea to put the philanthropic spin on it, doing wrist bands for sale to support Lost Dog & Cat Rescue, where she got her black cat, Chloe. Detail events + tickets are on sale here, but the main gist is that on Saturday, October 27, 8:30 PM – 11:30 PM, we’re having a Halloween shindig at Hawthorne. All of the profits from the wristbands for the event will go to sponsoring black cats at Lost Dog. This event is open to the public but space is limited so get your tickets now!
A couple of thank yous before I get to one of the most fun shoots I’ve ever done:
A big thank you to the folks at the Mission Group for always making it SO easy to plan events with them! Kati at Hawthorne has helped us before with our super fun Barbie Brunch and they always respond to my email inquiries almost immediately. Definitely consider Mission or Hawthorne for your next event!
Another huge thank you to Modcloth! They sent us our adorable skirts as a gift for this shoot and we’re so in love! What’s kind of funny is that Dani and I sort of knew how the other was styling it but we had no idea we’d show up in similar shirts and chunky pearls. Great minds, amiright? I’ve linked some of my favorite current Modcloth pieces below!
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