As the end of October approaches, many people will be planning to celebrate Hop tu Naam which is thought to be the oldest unbroken tradition in the Isle of Man.

As we say good-bye to summer and welcome in winter, Hop tu Naa will be mixed in with a celebration of Hallowe’en.

Witches feature in both of the traditions, with our famous Manx one being, of course, Jinnie the Witch.

And so it is fitting that this week we should celebrate the black cat.

Cats have been associated with witches for hundreds of years.

Black cats in the middle ages were believed to be witches’ familiars, and some people even believed them to be witches incarnate.

Many of these old superstitions about black cats exist to this day, and we think this is the main reason why our black cats take longer to be adopted than those of other colours.

However, in many countries black cats are seen as a good luck charm or a good omen - a black cat appearing on your doorstep signals prosperity (a common belief in Scotland), and a black cat crossing your path signals good fortune (in England and Ireland).

Another reason given for black cats being overlooked when it comes to adoption is that they are difficult to photograph, and the current trend for ’selfies’ makes this even more of an issue.

But a shiny black cat can be very photogenic.

In fact, most black cats are not completely black, and they can have feint stripes or speckles in their coats.

They also change colour in the sun - ’rusting’ is where, in bright sunlight, a black cat can appear to be a reddish-brown colour.

Your photogenic black cat is also likely to be healthier than its counterparts.

Research has shown that the genetic mutations that cause cats to have black coats may offer them some protection from diseases such as cancer and the feline equivalent of Alzheimer’s.

You can pretty much guarantee that we will have a black cat in our cattery looking for a new home all year round, but we do have more than usual at the moment.

We have several adult cats, some with a bit of white mixed in, and a very special quintet of black kittens.

They were all found at Cregneash in July and given this historic old village’s connections with tradition, one may be forgiven for thinking Jinnie may have played a part in their creation.

But they are not destined to be witches’ cats, and they all need loving new homes.

We have four, very sweet, females who are all very difficult to tell apart except that one (’Knight Rider’) has half a tail, and one (’Cosmic Creeper’) has a tiny amount of white on her chest.

The male (’Spyder’) had sore eyes when he came to us but they are completely fine now.

Needless to say, they all need new names!

Most cat owners will agree that the worst part (maybe the only downside) to owning a cat is that they kill garden birds for fun, and so it’s only fitting that we should help a sister charity, Manx Wild Bird Aid, by encouraging you to attend a car boot sale that they have organised to raise much needed funds.

It’s on Sunday, October 28, at Shaw’s Brow car park in Douglas, and it runs from 1pm to 3.30pm (and you can park for free in the rest of the car park).

Please show your support.