Black Cat Appreciation Day was created in 2011 by a man named Wayne H. Morris in honor of his late sister, who passed away on August 17th. June loved her black cat, Sinbad, who lived to be 20 years old. Sadly, Sinbad was reunited with June only two months after her passing.
Since then, cat lovers around the world have celebrated Black Cat Appreciation Day on August 17th. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the black-furred feline friends in our lives. There are many ways you can celebrate this day. You can volunteer at a local animal shelter and give the black cat lots of love. If you have a black cat, give him an extra treat, or a new fun toy. If you’re looking to adopt a pet, you can choose a black cat from a shelter. You can also celebrate by reading a book that features black cats, like these books we’ve selected for you. This is a mix of fiction and nonfiction, and not in a particular order otherwise.
Happy reading!
1 – Black Cats Tell All by Layla Morgan Wilde
A celebration of black cats to reverse negative stereotypes and superstitions. This collection of stories, narrated by the cats, will move, and amuse you with their tell-all stories, fun purrsonality profiles, and stunning photography. The book features over 100 black cats from all over the world including YouTube stars like Cole and Marmalade and Instagram influencers.
2 – The Black Cat Who Only Wanted to Be Loved by Rosa Silva
A touching and inspiring middle grade book about the power of friendship and the importance of acceptance and self-love, that will appeal to readers of all ages.
The book tells the story of Pepper, a little black cat that is forced to go on a journey of self-discovery after being abandoned by his owner on the side of a road.
3 – Sammie’s Tail: My Story of Rescue by Stasie Fishman
Sammie is a very rare Bombay cat with special needs. Sammie’s Tail is the story of her rescue from her perspective. Heartwarming and beautifully illustrated.
4 – No Gravestone Unturned by Debbie de Louise (Cobble Cove Mystery Series)
In this cozy mystery there’s a Halloween party happening at the library, but the last thing anyone needed was a real death. No Gravestone Unturned, features Salem, a Black cat visiting the inn, who helps Sneaky the Siamese and KittyKai the calico solve the mystery, along with Alicia the Librarian.
5 – Double Booked for Death by Ali Brandon (Black Cat Bookshop Mystery Series)
In this mystery book, the protagonist, Darla Pettistone, is from Texas and has moved to New York after unexpectedly inheriting her Great-Aunt Dee’s Brooklyn bookstore. She didn’t realize that the store’s mascot—Hamlet, an oversize black cat with a personality to match—was also part of the deal. And he may be more trouble than Darla bargained for…
6 – Cat Winter by Mollie Hunt (Cat Seasons Tetralogy)
In this science fiction tetralogy, each book follows a new clowder of sentient cats as they work to save the world from dangers untold. Cat Winter takes us on a journey with a new set of characters. In the dark matter of space, a powerful anomaly has come into being, its single purpose: to devour the cosmos. Little does Claire know that the outcome balances on the small, black shoulders of her cat, Slayter.
7 – The Ninth Life by Clea Simon (A Blackie and Care Cat Mystery Series)
The past is an enigma to Blackie, a black cat with a mysterious past. Combining elements of feline fantasy and cozy whodunit, The Ninth Life introduces this unusual hero and his companion, Care a fifteen-year-old homeless girl: two small creatures in a nightmarish urban landscape, fighting for their lives, and for the lives and memories of those they love.
8 – Catwoods, Stories and Studies of Our Feline Companions by Leah T Alford
This non-fiction book is about a couple who rescue, adopt, and love cats in their deep woods home in the southern US. These cats are all such original characters that they make every day blissful, giddy, poetic, or even somber, the way the moods and phases of real life unfold. There is a chapter devoted to the beauty of black cats and how light, dark, and color interweave in our visual world.
9 – Spam Vs. the Vampire (Spam the Cat Book Series) by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
In this children’s vampire mistery, Spam and the other cats at Darcy Dupres’ house are frantic with worry. Darcy walked out the door two (missed) wet meals ago and didn’t return or send anyone else to look after her beloved furry friends. The other cats think that she has abandoned them, but her office cat and (unbeknownst to her) protégé, Spam, suspects darker forces are at work. Spam and his friends, including a former black feral named Rocky, must protect their home from an invading vamp.
10 – Cat in an Alphabet Soup by Carole Nelson Douglas (Midnight Louie Mysteries Series)
The first Midnight Louie mystery, featuring the funniest, hairiest detective on the planet. When Temple Barr, five-feet-zero of feisty redhead, goes in hot pursuit of a stray black cat streaking through a publishing convention exhibit hall, she stumbles over a big-time NY editor lying dead.
Rosa, thanks so much for the shoutout! I’ve read several of those books and they are all excellent!
Rosa, thank you so much for including my book here! I too have read a few of these books and they were all great reads!
There are a few other books in Elizabeth Ann Scarborough’s Spam series. Go check them out at Gypsy Shadow Publishing!
HAPPY BLACK CAT APPRECIATION DAY =^^=
I will definitely be reading these books I just don’t know what one to choose first they all seem so exciting.x?????