Basquiat Black Cat - Feral Cat Photo of the Day

Basquiat started out as a rescued feral kitten. At the time, I was naming cats after artists so that's how he got his name.
Several years ago I heard loud squeaks from under a porch. I found two little kittens that had become soaking wet... one, a white kitten, was already gone. We managed to save the little black one, though - and it grew up to be Basquiat.

Basquiat was up for adoption but he never found a home. Which was sad: He very much wanted to be a house cat. He lived at my sister's house for a while but he was bullied there, so one day he simply relocated himself to one of the outbuildings, where he remains as king of his little area.

He's still pretty friendly, especially with me. Though he once was a sleek cat who ran everywhere, he's gotten a bit portly in his middle age. But that's okay. I think he's basically a happy kitty, though.

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As for the name: It's pronounced like BAH-skee-aht Or just BAH-skee for short. The painter after which the cat is named was Jean-Michel Basquiat, born 1960. He was considered to be the first painter of African descent to become an art celebrity.


Originally known as the political graffiti artist who went by the name SAMO, he became a protege of Andy Warhol and gained some fame for his African-themed abstract graffiti pieces. Unfortunately, Jean-Michel became extremely depressed after Andy Warhol's death in 1987. Basquiat died of an accidental heroin overdose in 1988.