Meet Izzy, a beautiful black kitten in one of our sponsored cat pens.

National Black Cat Day 2016 is just a few days away. While our annual celebration of brilliant black cats gets underway, it's an ideal opportunity to introduce you to one of the black cats in our sponsor pens.

Izzy is currently being looked after at Ferndown Homing Centre after a traumatic time. She was admitted to Cats Protection after being found dumped in a cardboard box at just five months old. Despite being just a kitten herself, she was also heavily pregnant and went into labour shortly after reaching the centre.

Izzy went on to have four kittens, named Malcolm, Libby, Harriet and Olivia and has since been well looked after at the centre. Despite her age, she has taken to motherhood brilliantly and enjoys showing off her kittens. An incredibly affectionate cat, she loves fuss and human company. Once her kittens have been weaned, Izzy will be looking for a new home where she can play and enjoy being a normal kitten.

Black and black-and-white cats like Izzy typically wait 22% longer to find a new owner than other cats, and are even considered by potential adopters to be less friendly, playful, vocal and attention-seeking than gingers or tabbies.

While it can be a real struggle to find homes for the black and black-and-white cats in Cats Protection's care, it's important to remember that black cats are just as fun-loving, mischievous and playful as any other cat and have so much to offer in terms of companionship.

Sponsoring one of our cat pens is one of the best ways you can help cats in our care and you can do so for as little as 19p a day. Find out more about sponsoring a cat pen and make a difference today.