Imogen will likely take a long time to come around to accepting the other beasts in the Cosy Apartment. In the meantime, however, she is allowed out of the library for exploration. She has taken to jumping to the top of the kitchen cabinets. She did this in her old home when I first tried to catch her, and it took twenty minutes or more to do so. Now, it’s a simple matter to lift her down when I need her to descend. She does’t like it, but that’s only because she thinks I might drop her. She learns to trust quickly.
But I noticed something when Imogen was up high, something that I saw only when her legs were at my eye-level. I initially thought she was entirely black, but she does have a few white hairs here and there. One interesting feature I saw was a ring of white hairs around her rear left leg, just above the heel.
There are not enough of them to form a continuous ring, while there are sufficient individual hairs to give the impression of a band around the limb. It’s not an injury, though the way hair is affected by the skin underneath it, it may stem from something that left its mark. Rings around cats’ tails and legs may be seen all the time, but this is the first instance I’ve observed of one that colours so few hairs such as this.
It’s another example of what makes my newest feline acquaintance different.
That is curious. Cats are always full of surprises, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteI can see that the few white hairs would be easy to miss!
ReplyDeleteInteresting - the only black cat I had (Shady) had a small white patch on her neck. My daugther's Stanley has a similar, but even smaller patch. I've not seen a cat with so very few hair of a different color as Imogen.
ReplyDeleteHector has a white tuft on his chest, and another, smaller on his throat. I’ve noticed a good number of otherwise black cats have tufts of white on their chests. But I’ve not seen Imogen’s distinctive little ring of individual hairs on any other cat.
DeleteI'm curious as wel. We will never know.
ReplyDeleteLike Imogen,Willow likes to jump on top of the kitchen cabinets. I guess she figures I can't reach her if she is up there - and she's right. Pete is all black except for a patch of white on his chest that's shaped like a bat's wing. He's all dressed up for Halloween.
ReplyDeleteOur Sweetie has the same type of bracelet on a leg, on a foot, on a toe. Plus, she has white fur sprinkled all over, but that may be age.
ReplyDeleteSweetie is all decked out for a night on the town.
DeleteThey are keeper of secrets aren't they?!
ReplyDeleteHow cute for Imogen. Nice that you were in a position to actually see the white. Now she can be "advertised" as a black and white and her furever home will come on sooner.
ReplyDeleteImogen is all dressed up wearing her ankle bracelet!
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty special birthmark!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool bit of Imogen-ness you've discovered!
ReplyDeleteThat is a sweet way to be able to identify her...its her trademark!
ReplyDelete