"My name is
Süsi (Coal) not
Eba/õnn (Bad Luck). I want to find a loving home too.
Kirjuta mulle." (Write me).
Oktoober is Musta kassi kuu (Black Cat Month) at the
Kasside Turva/kodu (cats' "safe home", i.e. shelter) in Tallinn. It is an MTÜ or
mitte/tulundus/ühing – nonprofit organization, as is Varju/paikade MTÜ (
varju/paik is another word for a shelter), which has a network of seven animal shelters all over Eesti. For the past five years, their successful
kampaania has been:
Oktoobris mustad kassid loovutus/tasuta!" – In October a release (i.e. adoption) fee need not be paid for black cats.
Loovutama is to give away, give up. The release fee for cats is usually 25€, since they have been checked by a veterinarian,
steriliseeritud / kastreeritud, have received all necessary
vaktsiinid, parasiidi/tõrje (had parasites eradicated) and have been gifted with a
mikro/kiip (microchip).
Why do black cats tend to not be adopted as often or as quickly as other cats? Is it
eba/usk (superstition) or the fact that they are not as
fotogeenilised in this age of posting your pets on
sotsiaal/meedia? They very well might have
eri/võimed (special powers) and two
smaragd/rohelist (emerald green) or
mere/vaigu/karva (amber coloured) eyes glowing in a sea of
siidine (silky) black is always a sight to behold.
In oktoober of 2017, 137 cats found new homes from the Varjupaigad group of shelters. Varjupaikade MTÜ has currently set up an exclusive black cat galerii (
http://varjupaik.ee/paku-kodu/...) and I suggest visiting the site (
https://kassideturvakodu.ee/) to see the dedicated and charming way they introduce each individual kass and their story. Süsi, Mustu, Mustik, Mustikas and Öö await!
Riina Kindlam, Tallinn
