In Black Cats we Trust

This symbol is ubiquitous in Japan, I see it multiple times a day. It is the logo of Kuroneko (Black Cat) the countries biggest delivery service. I first put my trust in this company in the Autumn of 1999, when I moved from Tokyo to Kyoto. They promised my bags would arrive by 10am the next day and true to their word they did.  Millions of people put their trust in this company every year.

But strangely, like many Americans a lot of Japanese people regard black cats as unlucky. For me, being English, I regard them as being extremely lucky. I have a great example of how a black cat brought someone good fortune. Many years ago, when I was a driving instructor in England, one day, one of my students was going to take her driving test, but on the way to the test centre she was very nervous and driving very dangerously. I was thinking about cancelling the test, but all of a sudden a black cat ran in front of us. For British people if a black cat crosses their path, it means good luck will come. Instantly, my student relaxed and started to drive well. She went on to take and pass her driving test. Whether you think it was magical or psychological, that black cat brought her luck.

I was lucky to be familiar with a black cat for a number of years. He was one of three cats, that my then partner had. So they were her pets, but when I moved in I think I became the cats pet. They were all wonderful, but this story is about the black one. His name was Junior and he was a big cat.  He taught me many things. For example, it is a waste of a Sunday morning reading in the newspaper what powerful selfish and narrow minded men are doing, it is far more fulfilling to stroke Junior's belly for hours, and hours.  He also taught me that it is fruitless to try and save money and time. He did this by refusing to eat the locally bought cheap cat food I bought. So I had to head off to the distant supermarket to buy the good stuff. The biggest lesson he taught me was how deep animals feeling are and how they can deliberately act on those emotions. We regularly used a medicine spray on the cats to protect them from fleas. Off course they all hated this.  One day I was looking out of the kitchen window and Junior jumped up next to me. I thought it would be funny to pretend to spray him, he quickly jumped down and ran across the kitchen. He looked back and realised he had been tricked. I think this humiliated him and he got his revenge. For the next hour or so he kept himself in my sight at a distance not looking at me. If I came close he would move away an equal distance. Luckily for me we became friends again.

I love cats especially black cats, if a black cat becomes familiar with you, then you are a lucky person.