Black cats helped bring the community back together after Hurricane Helene, and can inspire you to prepare your own kitties for emergencies.
When I visited Asheville in June 2024, I spent an afternoon hanging out at the House of Black Cat Magic, a community hub for western North Carolina’s cat rescuers and magic practitioners, which had just celebrated its first anniversary. On another day, I kayaked six miles down the French Broad River, which passes through the famously ritzy Biltmore Estate, the River Arts District, and downtown Asheville. It was a bumpy ride in places, the water so low I had to use my paddle to push off rocks. But the mountain town was dreamy and idyllic.
Just a few months later, Hurricane Helene dumped 40 trillion gallons of rain on western North Carolina. That shallow French Broad River, along with the Swannanoa, rose and massively flooded Asheville. Roads and bridges gave out, and thousands of Asheville structures were destroyed or made uninhabitable. As search and rescue teams continued their grim work, the western North Carolina death toll rose to 103.
House of Black Cat Magic has the good fortune to sit on higher ground in West Asheville and was one of the earliest businesses to reopen after the hurricane. The cat lounge and magic shop has become a vital place for pet owners and serves survivors who, in some cases, have lost everything but their cat.
Find Your Familiar
Hannah Soboleski owned Binx’s Home for Black Cats, a cat rescue in Asheville. She started Binx’s because black cats are the likeliest to be euthanized in shelters. Binx’s participated in regular pet adoption events around Asheville, but the placement of the beloved black kitties often faltered.
“All these other rescues would come in and have multiple adoptions that day,” she said. “And we would have zero.”
Soboleski considered who might like to adopt a black cat–which led her to partner with the metaphysical shop where Star Bustamonte worked.
“[Soboleski] began doing adoption events once a month with us,” Bustamonte said. “And we both realized rather quickly that the people that frequented any kind of metaphysical or magical supply store were ten times more likely to adopt black cats.”
Lines were out the door for their “Find Your Familiar” adoption events. Thought to be protectors or guardians, a “familiar” is a moniker for the animal companions of witches and wizards; black cats and witches have long-held association.
Bustamonte and Soboleski decided to team up and start a cat lounge/magic supply store where people could interact with black cats without kennels or cages. They figured that in a homelike setting, cats could show off their personalities, leading to a higher rate of adoptions.
And it worked. House of Black Cat Magic was running smoothly. When I visited in June, a tarot card reader sat in the front window of the shop. I browsed black cat-shaped candle holders, mystical jewelry, and Egyptian cat statuettes. The shop cat, Magic, greeted me on the counter. In the cat lounge, I played with 12 cats on the skull and spider-patterned rug.
And then came Helene.
The Community’s Cat Heroes
When meteorologists began tracking Helene, Asheville residents knew it was going to be bad. Bustamonte and Soboleski figured the shop would be safe from flooding. But many others wouldn’t be. The day before the storm, the pair went to help Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, which was located in a floodplain and had flooded before.
“We told them to load up our cars with as many cats as they could and we would just find a way to get them fosters or house them here,” Soboleski said. They fit 20 cats in their cars.
“She said she’d lost everything. The only thing that she had was her cat, and she was desperate for supplies.”
On Friday, September 27, the hurricane hit Asheville, knocking out roads, bridges, cell service, water, and power. Brother Wolf’s building was completely destroyed. Fortunately for the House of Black Cat Magic, one of the employees lives upstairs from the shop, and another lives close by–they cared for the cats until the owners could get there. When Bustamonte was finally able to reach the shop, a distraught woman pulled up in a car.
“She said she’d lost everything,” said Bustamonte. “The only thing that she had was her cat, and she was desperate for supplies.”
Since it was an emergency, Bustamonte borrowed from the Asheville Cat Weirdos food pantry, which was stored nearby. That was the beginning of the House of Black Cat Magic being a key distribution center for pet owners post-Helene.
Bustamonte and Soboleski opened the shop and cat lounge seven days a week from noon to six to hand out supplies. Their friends at Miss Dixie’s Kitten Rescue in Seneca, South Carolina, were the first to help, sending three truckloads of provisions in the hurricane’s aftermath. Soon Bustamonte and Soboleski were coordinating with the Red Cross, the ASPCA, and other donors to help individuals, other rescues and shelters in Asheville, and even harder-hit areas.
“It’s been some mad shit,” said Bustamonte.
Feline Therapy
The Red Cross asked Soboleski and Bustamonte to bring cats to an emergency shelter as informal feline therapy. They chose two harness-trained kittens.
“You would be looking around, and kids are laughing and playing with the cats, and people are cuddling with the cats,” Soboleski said. “And then you look over to your right and there’s people just bawling their eyes out that have lost everything. They’re not able to really even function. So it was a lot. But I definitely felt like we brought at least a little spark of joy that night.”
Just a few days after the storm was the start of October, which is Black Cat Awareness Month. The House of Black Cat Magic struggled with whether it should hold its scheduled Samhain event, a fall harvest festivity, or not.
“But we thought that it was really important to just go ahead and try to bring some sort of normalcy to people that wanted something to celebrate,” said Soboleski. Hundreds of people showed up, dressed up, and sat around the fire to remember those that they’d lost. After all, the veil between the living and dead is thought to be thinnest on Samhain.
The Cat’s Out of the Go-Bag
Contemplating other people’s disasters reminds us to prepare for our own. Just as humans should have a go-bag with things like canned goods, water, and flashlights, kitties need prep, too. The first order of business: getting your cat out of harm’s way. Cat rescues have a pillowcase on standby for each cat.
“Because the pillowcases are a lot faster to get cats into in the event of an emergency,” Soboleski said. If you only have a cat or two, a regular carrier is best. They recommend a top-loading carrier as the easiest to get your cat into. But if you have a lot of cats, you should also have a pillowcase for each in case of fire or other fast-moving emergencies.
Kitty’s go-bag should contain their medical records and microchip info. And, of course, water, food, litter, and a cozy blanket. And remember to be a good role model for your cat.
“Your demeanor needs to be calm,” said Soboleski. “Because your cat is going to be taking direction from you. If you’re panicking, your cat is going to panic as well.”
Cat Cuddles (and More) Post-Helene
Do you want to support Asheville, and particularly its black cats? You can buy something on Binx’s Amazon wish list or shop at House of Black Cat Magic’s online store.
Or you could come cuddle black cats in person. Asheville is open for business. Soboleski asks that visitors give the city and its residents “a little bit of grace. Please come and support us. But please just know that we’re all struggling still.”
And wherever you are, you can help cats. “They don’t have a voice,” said Bustamonte. She recommends visiting a cat café, supporting your local rescue or shelter, or feeding a feral cat colony near your house.
“An everyday act of kindness can make a huge difference in an animal’s life. Even though it may seem small and insignificant, it matters.”
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