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Someone Notices That Panthers Are Just XXXL Sized Black Cats, Compares Them In 16 Photos
We share a lot of stories online about people living with exotic wild animals, maybe after a rescue and recovery period that left the animal unable to live in the wild. While these stories may seem inspirational and make you want to welcome a wild prey animal into your home, it’s always important to remember that wild animal, no matter how tame they are, present much greater behavioral problems than animals bred to be domestic, and the people who care for them are most likely not showing the struggles that go on behind the scenes.
If you want a pet with all the majesty and grace of the real kings of the jungle, you don’t have to look far when a simple domestic cat from your local shelter would do. Here are some photos showing how much cats have in common with their distant relatives – black panthers.
RELATED:
They have fearsome fangs
Image credits: Youted
Image credits: unknown
They’re great athletes
Image credits: achoirofcritters
Image credits: unknown
…in more ways than one
Image credits: unknown
Image credits: unknown
They look fierce when on the prowl…
Image credits: inmyelement
Image credits: Getty
…or on the move…
Image credits: unknown
Image credits: Giri Cavale
…or just hanging out
Image credits: unknown
Image credits: Getty
Beware of sharp objects
Image credits: unknown
Image credits: Project Survival’s Cat Haven
But they also have a soft side
Image credits: unknown
Image credits: Dheeraj pach
While it’s a common anecdotal belief that black cats take longer to get adopted in shelters, as artist Jenny Jinya highlights in her viral black cat comics, the relationship between coat color and adoption rates is unclear. In one ASPCA study, black cats indeed made up 30% of cats euthanized in shelters, but also an impressive 31% of adoptions, suggesting that these cute cats may be simply among the most common coat colors born to mixed-breed cats and the most common to end up in shelters in the first place.
It’s also commonplace for shelters not to allow the adoption of black cats leading up to Halloween, due to the widespread belief that black cats are especially desired for ritual sacrifices. However, despite being treated as common knowledge, official reports on whether this is a confirmed practice or an urban legend are fuzzy, and some shelters have been dropping the policy in the 21st century, as the modern adoption application and interview process are deterrent enough for people who may have violent intentions. Shelter workers are more worried about adorable cats living on the streets becoming targets for abuse.
The Guardian published tips for taking good photos of your black pet cat after British shelters blamed Instagram culture for low black cat adoption rates, saying that potential adopters don’t find them selfie-friendly, but do we really need tips? Surely the fact that they show up in pictures like amorphous black shadows with eyes is part of the appeal. It’s like having a cryptid black animal for a pet. Do you have a house panther you’d like to share pictures of? Comment below!
Commenters voiced their appreciation for these creatures of the night
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What do you think ?
troufaki13 5 years ago
I suddenly miss my black cat... She's not dead, she's at home and I'm at work! :D
rockrolla 5 years ago
I miss my black cat. RIP Sir Meowmington Witchy Paw
Load More Replies...
Kaisu 5 years ago
It's so sad that because of old superstitions, black cats are still adopted less than other kinds of cats. I had a black cat growing up and she was the sweetest thing ever
Vic 5 years ago
But you have to admit, the cats in the pics looked more ferocious than the Panthers 🙂
Load More Replies...
E A M 5 years ago
I want to up vote this more! I have a house panther. His name is Neo. I love him! He's so sweet and playful and majestic. He's also an idiot...
Biljana Malesevic 5 years ago
I have one at my home too. It's litterally so adorable I can not stop staring at that kitty. She can't stand me (but loves my daughter) probably because I tend to be annoying by trying to cuddle.
Lingon 5 years ago
Get a male one, as females tend to be b****y. Just be prepared at that she will treat him as dirt.
Load More Replies...
Ethan Collard 5 years ago
I think my "white" cat wants to be a black cat! He's always getting as dirty as he can be...
Catlady6000 5 years ago
I have Coco and Java, daughters of Silence, who is also a smoldering house panther
Trish Greene 5 years ago
I freakin' love black cats! They are totally magical. Pendragon, my 5 month old is amazing. Pen-and-Me...d-jpeg.jpg 
Rose Lloyd 5 years ago
My four black rescue panthers all on the cat tree at the same time. 20180720_0...e43d2e.jpg 
Artist Known As Lisa 5 years ago
Indeed .. no matter the size. Difference is.. one can snap your neck. Just saying ..
Load More Replies...
Brandy Grote 5 years ago
Black cats are smart! Mine learned colors, numbers, and left from right. She was adorable.
Paw Paw 5 years ago (edited)
Leopards (Panthera pardus) and jaguars (Panthera onca), when they're black. Panther can also be a mountain lion, though it's in a different genus (Puma concolor) There hasn't been any melanistic cougars/mountain lions found - only anecdotal information
Load More Replies...
Paw Paw 5 years ago (edited)
In 1996 the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson AZ received two sister black jaguars, when they were seven months old. Nikita and Simone. They had a really nice habitat, and loved to play run and surprise! you. It became a game with them. We'd run from one end of the habitat, they'd follow, and JUMP! out from behind a bush when we caught up with them. No contact, - there was a strong steel mesh between us. But it was FUN! They loved it as much as we did. Nikita 1996 - 2017 Simone 1996 - 2019 💔
Load More Replies...
Lucille Wenzel 5 years ago
I miss my 6 pound house panther. Her name was Pecabo after Pecabo Street the Olympian skier because she was move so fast.
Demi Zwaan 5 years ago
One of our 5 cats is black, Wicca, and she's the sweetest and most beautiful of them all! She also always gets left in a room when I leave, because she's just a shadow on a pillow and I don't notice her when I usher all the other cats out :D Then when I go count, I'll miss her, go back to the room and she'll be sitting there clearly wondering why we left her. And then we cuddle.
Artist Known As Lisa 5 years ago
Lol! Right? They're very stealth. Hide in plain site. I actually have 4 stealth kitties, one all black, one tux who is mostly black, and 2 grays. The other 2 are a yellow tabby and a tux who's mostly white. Those can't hide very well. But yeah .. the all black one.. the other night, couldn't find her. Called all over the house, called outside. The whole time she was laying on our dark brown couch. She freaking blended into it!
Load More Replies... Alan Green 5 years ago
Wouldn't say one cat being like another cat is hilarious. Maybe i'm just too logical for this world.
Artist Known As Lisa 5 years ago
Cmon.. it's cute. Do you have a black cat?
Load More Replies...
Dumitru Ionut 5 years ago
tried to show her some cats on the internet, she's not interested IMG_2274-5...a-jpeg.jpg 
Eve Hershkowitz 5 years ago
I have 2 "black panthers;" one had an odd bite & his fangs & tip of this tail always stick out a little .. my "vampire cat"! ;) The other is quite the athlete! 18-02-27-B...fb7180.jpg 
Dean Mapogo 5 years ago
In England if a black cat crosses your path it is good luck so where people get that black cats bring bad luck they couldn't be more wrong
Ethan Collard 5 years ago
I think my "white" cat wants to be a black cat. he's always getting as dirty as he can!
Roberto Durante 5 years ago
always been in love with big cat of any colour, I had a black cat on my work and he was always hanging like his big brother in the trees
Daria Z 5 years ago
I had a totally black cat called Besyonok (Little Imp) who passed away 6 years ago. None of my other cats was that elegant and graceful.
Willem Oostdyck 5 years ago
but then again.... if the kitty bites in pic 1 its ow, hey!!!..... if the panther bites, you lose your arm :P
Magpie 5 years ago
I always ask for the cat/s that need to be adopted the most. R.S.P.C.A Australia. Have not had a black cat yet. I do miss the black cat i grew up with. All cats have different purrrsonalities.
Carol Emory 5 years ago
That first picture....if it wasn't for the fangs, I would swear that's Toothless.
Yolana Despuriumi 5 years ago
The first black jaguar pic is from blackjaguarwhitetiger Instagram. The jaguar that bit the hand is baby Kal El
Brandon Burke 3 years ago
If I color my cougars fur black Then i guess I have a black panther.
Vik Roberts 5 years ago
The ritual killing around Hallowe’en is NOT an urban legend. I rescued a black male kitten that had escaped from a bunch of satanist cat murderers congregated at the cemetery my Ex is buried in about 11 pm a year ago this coming Friday. Don’t EVEN get me started!
Susan Primrose 5 years ago
I love black cats. I have one now that is a Bombay that was feral at one time, took in and declawed and thrown out. I rescued her and it took her 2 years to finally become loving and trusting. I despise people who throw their animals away! They are the ones to be thrown away!
Monika Soffronow 5 years ago (edited)
This is my favorite animal. Black panthers are so majestic. And so totally black. Some twenty odd years ago, visiting Xcaret, an eco-park in Quintana Roo, Mexico, not far from Cancun, I shot a few photos of a jaguar and a black panther playing. The film came back from development and I thought that the lab had destroyed a few of the photos, because on some of them there was a black, irregular blob covering parts of a jaguar ... my camera could not handle it.
Debra Grove 5 years ago
I've had 2 black cats in my life and they were by far the best cats i've ever lived with, I miss them both very much...October and Eclair. RIP
deanna woods 5 years ago
I love black cats. Their fur is so shiny and they are so cute. I don't get people's issues with black cats, but they are missing out on some good pets because of superstition. Black cats need love too.
Tisha Tittle 5 years ago
This is the 5th one i've had, and he was a stray, that was hours away from dying and that was 6 years ago, he's amazing and every bit a panther and totally sweet on the other hand.............. IMG_6232-5...474e32.jpg 
Tisha Tittle 5 years ago
yes i do, he was a stray, and he's very panther like in every way, but such miracle cat, and the 5th one i've had IMG_6232-5...55e563.jpg 
Dean Mapogo 5 years ago (edited)
I'm also sick of people saying black cats bring bad luck. But here in England if a black cat crosses your path it is good luck
Dean Mapogo 5 years ago
My little black cat lulu mapogo she 14 years old and we love her very much
Luana Martin 5 years ago
Our lil mini panther also looks like a mini mako shark half the time he yawns :D jasprawrr-...d4a61e.jpg 
Danielle Renee 5 years ago
how can you not love them! i have two black cats and they're definitely house panthers
Amaranthim Talon 5 years ago
I so want a kitteh- any sort, I am not picky. We have two pups but husband is not a cat person. So I drive around with a bag of cat food and catnip in my car so as to randomly gift stray kitties a treat when I am out and about.
Phil Boswell 5 years ago
We're on our third black cat who is lurking under a chair in the next room. They've ranged from tiny (Daisy) to huge (Bramble) and Roger is about middling. So far we've had 12 cats including the current incumbents so ¼ of them have been black; four of them (so ⅓) are/were red tabbies so what does that say?
Mónica Sacco 5 years ago
My beautiful, cruel, blackest Benita is already 16 and still on the go!
Karen Klinck 5 years ago
I have had a house panther for the past 40 years (along with others.) 10 years ago, a friend and sat down and tabulated kitties; between us we'd rescued over 60! Some of that was (like my favorite mug says) cats are like potato chips--you can't have just one! Right now the current house panther is sleeping on my purse. (It can't be comfortable--is she trying to keep me home?)
Bemwinda Po 5 years ago
Black cats are wonderful but my sister in law does not allow me to touch the animals of the house cause she feeds them..I have a black cat but when he comes to me she sends him away
Delrene Sims 5 years ago
I love black cats. Over the years I’ve had three. All little strays that were brave enough to show up at a home with a German Shepherd, who loved them all.
Albert Ambrosia 5 years ago
Funny I always thought that I have 6 black outdoor cats, born in my garage and never left. They are all demorats...they eat, pee, c**p, sleep, demand food, water, milk etc. Get free healthcare and I worry about them all....Yep they are demorats! But such beauties!
DarthPaul Weinstein 5 years ago
My black cat is definitely a mini-panther. When she’s on the prowl, look out!
Veronica Sjöberg 5 years ago
Cant stop watching this!!! Too cute for words! "I'm a big dangerous hunter!!" ;) (I too have a little panter at home. He's gorgeous!)
Anthony Bowen 5 years ago
My black panther is asleep on the chair behind me. No doubt he'll wake up soon and decide that it's time for my dog to have his ears washed for the 50th time today. And there are plenty of hours left for more ear washing.
[insert Name Here] 5 years ago
This guy is a genius! Who knew that domesticated cats were LITERALLY just small versions of their wild ancestors! 🙄🤦🏻♂️🤡
Aairah Baig 5 years ago
Oh my god! I never thought of that! That's a lot of deep thinking! But why would you let a panther bite you?
Leslie Parker 5 years ago
Is this large cat living in an animal sanctuary? NO ANIMAL WHO SHOULD BE IN THE WILD BELONGS IN A HOME AS A PET. PERIOD. Humans. The greatest threat to all other beings on this earth. We are a plague to them all.
Sinkvenice 5 years ago
Someone *just* noticed that a Panther is like a massive black cat? Give that dude an award! Good grief.
Hermione Granger 5 years ago
No, they are saying that they are similar in many ways. My 9 pound dog isn't similar to a wolf, but he is related. You don't have to criticize this.
Load More Replies... troufaki13 5 years ago
I suddenly miss my black cat... She's not dead, she's at home and I'm at work! :D
rockrolla 5 years ago
I miss my black cat. RIP Sir Meowmington Witchy Paw
Load More Replies... Kaisu 5 years ago
It's so sad that because of old superstitions, black cats are still adopted less than other kinds of cats. I had a black cat growing up and she was the sweetest thing ever
Vic 5 years ago
But you have to admit, the cats in the pics looked more ferocious than the Panthers 🙂
Load More Replies... E A M 5 years ago
I want to up vote this more! I have a house panther. His name is Neo. I love him! He's so sweet and playful and majestic. He's also an idiot...
Biljana Malesevic 5 years ago
I have one at my home too. It's litterally so adorable I can not stop staring at that kitty. She can't stand me (but loves my daughter) probably because I tend to be annoying by trying to cuddle.
Lingon 5 years ago
Get a male one, as females tend to be b****y. Just be prepared at that she will treat him as dirt.
Load More Replies... Ethan Collard 5 years ago
I think my "white" cat wants to be a black cat! He's always getting as dirty as he can be...
Catlady6000 5 years ago
I have Coco and Java, daughters of Silence, who is also a smoldering house panther
Trish Greene 5 years ago
I freakin' love black cats! They are totally magical. Pendragon, my 5 month old is amazing. Pen-and-Me...d-jpeg.jpg
Rose Lloyd 5 years ago
My four black rescue panthers all on the cat tree at the same time. 20180720_0...e43d2e.jpg
Artist Known As Lisa 5 years ago
Indeed .. no matter the size. Difference is.. one can snap your neck. Just saying ..
Load More Replies... Brandy Grote 5 years ago
Black cats are smart! Mine learned colors, numbers, and left from right. She was adorable.
Paw Paw 5 years ago (edited)
Leopards (Panthera pardus) and jaguars (Panthera onca), when they're black. Panther can also be a mountain lion, though it's in a different genus (Puma concolor) There hasn't been any melanistic cougars/mountain lions found - only anecdotal information
Load More Replies... Paw Paw 5 years ago (edited)
In 1996 the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson AZ received two sister black jaguars, when they were seven months old. Nikita and Simone. They had a really nice habitat, and loved to play run and surprise! you. It became a game with them. We'd run from one end of the habitat, they'd follow, and JUMP! out from behind a bush when we caught up with them. No contact, - there was a strong steel mesh between us. But it was FUN! They loved it as much as we did. Nikita 1996 - 2017 Simone 1996 - 2019 💔
Load More Replies... Lucille Wenzel 5 years ago
I miss my 6 pound house panther. Her name was Pecabo after Pecabo Street the Olympian skier because she was move so fast.
Demi Zwaan 5 years ago
One of our 5 cats is black, Wicca, and she's the sweetest and most beautiful of them all! She also always gets left in a room when I leave, because she's just a shadow on a pillow and I don't notice her when I usher all the other cats out :D Then when I go count, I'll miss her, go back to the room and she'll be sitting there clearly wondering why we left her. And then we cuddle.
Artist Known As Lisa 5 years ago
Lol! Right? They're very stealth. Hide in plain site. I actually have 4 stealth kitties, one all black, one tux who is mostly black, and 2 grays. The other 2 are a yellow tabby and a tux who's mostly white. Those can't hide very well. But yeah .. the all black one.. the other night, couldn't find her. Called all over the house, called outside. The whole time she was laying on our dark brown couch. She freaking blended into it!
Load More Replies... Alan Green 5 years ago
Wouldn't say one cat being like another cat is hilarious. Maybe i'm just too logical for this world.
Artist Known As Lisa 5 years ago
Cmon.. it's cute. Do you have a black cat?
Load More Replies... Dumitru Ionut 5 years ago
tried to show her some cats on the internet, she's not interested IMG_2274-5...a-jpeg.jpg
Eve Hershkowitz 5 years ago
I have 2 "black panthers;" one had an odd bite & his fangs & tip of this tail always stick out a little .. my "vampire cat"! ;) The other is quite the athlete! 18-02-27-B...fb7180.jpg
Dean Mapogo 5 years ago
In England if a black cat crosses your path it is good luck so where people get that black cats bring bad luck they couldn't be more wrong
Ethan Collard 5 years ago
I think my "white" cat wants to be a black cat. he's always getting as dirty as he can!
Roberto Durante 5 years ago
always been in love with big cat of any colour, I had a black cat on my work and he was always hanging like his big brother in the trees
Daria Z 5 years ago
I had a totally black cat called Besyonok (Little Imp) who passed away 6 years ago. None of my other cats was that elegant and graceful.
Willem Oostdyck 5 years ago
but then again.... if the kitty bites in pic 1 its ow, hey!!!..... if the panther bites, you lose your arm :P
Magpie 5 years ago
I always ask for the cat/s that need to be adopted the most. R.S.P.C.A Australia. Have not had a black cat yet. I do miss the black cat i grew up with. All cats have different purrrsonalities.
Carol Emory 5 years ago
That first picture....if it wasn't for the fangs, I would swear that's Toothless.
Yolana Despuriumi 5 years ago
The first black jaguar pic is from blackjaguarwhitetiger Instagram. The jaguar that bit the hand is baby Kal El
Brandon Burke 3 years ago
If I color my cougars fur black Then i guess I have a black panther.
Vik Roberts 5 years ago
The ritual killing around Hallowe’en is NOT an urban legend. I rescued a black male kitten that had escaped from a bunch of satanist cat murderers congregated at the cemetery my Ex is buried in about 11 pm a year ago this coming Friday. Don’t EVEN get me started!
Susan Primrose 5 years ago
I love black cats. I have one now that is a Bombay that was feral at one time, took in and declawed and thrown out. I rescued her and it took her 2 years to finally become loving and trusting. I despise people who throw their animals away! They are the ones to be thrown away!
Monika Soffronow 5 years ago (edited)
This is my favorite animal. Black panthers are so majestic. And so totally black. Some twenty odd years ago, visiting Xcaret, an eco-park in Quintana Roo, Mexico, not far from Cancun, I shot a few photos of a jaguar and a black panther playing. The film came back from development and I thought that the lab had destroyed a few of the photos, because on some of them there was a black, irregular blob covering parts of a jaguar ... my camera could not handle it.
Debra Grove 5 years ago
I've had 2 black cats in my life and they were by far the best cats i've ever lived with, I miss them both very much...October and Eclair. RIP
deanna woods 5 years ago
I love black cats. Their fur is so shiny and they are so cute. I don't get people's issues with black cats, but they are missing out on some good pets because of superstition. Black cats need love too.
Tisha Tittle 5 years ago
This is the 5th one i've had, and he was a stray, that was hours away from dying and that was 6 years ago, he's amazing and every bit a panther and totally sweet on the other hand.............. IMG_6232-5...474e32.jpg
Tisha Tittle 5 years ago
yes i do, he was a stray, and he's very panther like in every way, but such miracle cat, and the 5th one i've had IMG_6232-5...55e563.jpg
Dean Mapogo 5 years ago (edited)
I'm also sick of people saying black cats bring bad luck. But here in England if a black cat crosses your path it is good luck
Dean Mapogo 5 years ago
My little black cat lulu mapogo she 14 years old and we love her very much
Luana Martin 5 years ago
Our lil mini panther also looks like a mini mako shark half the time he yawns :D jasprawrr-...d4a61e.jpg
Danielle Renee 5 years ago
how can you not love them! i have two black cats and they're definitely house panthers
Amaranthim Talon 5 years ago
I so want a kitteh- any sort, I am not picky. We have two pups but husband is not a cat person. So I drive around with a bag of cat food and catnip in my car so as to randomly gift stray kitties a treat when I am out and about.
Phil Boswell 5 years ago
We're on our third black cat who is lurking under a chair in the next room. They've ranged from tiny (Daisy) to huge (Bramble) and Roger is about middling. So far we've had 12 cats including the current incumbents so ¼ of them have been black; four of them (so ⅓) are/were red tabbies so what does that say?
Mónica Sacco 5 years ago
My beautiful, cruel, blackest Benita is already 16 and still on the go!
Karen Klinck 5 years ago
I have had a house panther for the past 40 years (along with others.) 10 years ago, a friend and sat down and tabulated kitties; between us we'd rescued over 60! Some of that was (like my favorite mug says) cats are like potato chips--you can't have just one! Right now the current house panther is sleeping on my purse. (It can't be comfortable--is she trying to keep me home?)
Bemwinda Po 5 years ago
Black cats are wonderful but my sister in law does not allow me to touch the animals of the house cause she feeds them..I have a black cat but when he comes to me she sends him away
Delrene Sims 5 years ago
I love black cats. Over the years I’ve had three. All little strays that were brave enough to show up at a home with a German Shepherd, who loved them all.
Albert Ambrosia 5 years ago
Funny I always thought that I have 6 black outdoor cats, born in my garage and never left. They are all demorats...they eat, pee, c**p, sleep, demand food, water, milk etc. Get free healthcare and I worry about them all....Yep they are demorats! But such beauties!
DarthPaul Weinstein 5 years ago
My black cat is definitely a mini-panther. When she’s on the prowl, look out!
Veronica Sjöberg 5 years ago
Cant stop watching this!!! Too cute for words! "I'm a big dangerous hunter!!" ;) (I too have a little panter at home. He's gorgeous!)
Anthony Bowen 5 years ago
My black panther is asleep on the chair behind me. No doubt he'll wake up soon and decide that it's time for my dog to have his ears washed for the 50th time today. And there are plenty of hours left for more ear washing.
[insert Name Here] 5 years ago
This guy is a genius! Who knew that domesticated cats were LITERALLY just small versions of their wild ancestors! 🙄🤦🏻♂️🤡
Aairah Baig 5 years ago
Oh my god! I never thought of that! That's a lot of deep thinking! But why would you let a panther bite you?
Leslie Parker 5 years ago
Is this large cat living in an animal sanctuary? NO ANIMAL WHO SHOULD BE IN THE WILD BELONGS IN A HOME AS A PET. PERIOD. Humans. The greatest threat to all other beings on this earth. We are a plague to them all.
Sinkvenice 5 years ago
Someone *just* noticed that a Panther is like a massive black cat? Give that dude an award! Good grief.
Hermione Granger 5 years ago
No, they are saying that they are similar in many ways. My 9 pound dog isn't similar to a wolf, but he is related. You don't have to criticize this.
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