ASHEVILLE, North Carolina – For centuries, the adage “Don’t let a black cat cross your path” has been passed on as mother’s milk. But in Asheville, North Carolina, a new destination for magical supplies and camaraderie will work to ensure safe and humane adoptions for them.
House of Black Cat Magic (HBCM), founded by Star Bustamonte and Hannah Soboleski, is dedicated to increasing awareness about the plight of black cats and the magic associated with them. Scheduled to open in May with their grand opening on Sunday, June 4, 2023, HBCM will accomplish this mission in a unique environment that operates simultaneously as a shop where magical practitioners can purchase supplies and a lounge where patrons can relax or connect with feline energy.
For Soboleski, who also founded Binx’s Home for Black Cats in 2020, the opening is driven by a need to address the stigma black cats face.
Binx’s Home for Black Cats logo
“The bigger issue is that black animals make up most of the intakes in U.S. shelters each year,” 33-year-old Soboleski explained. “Because there are more of them, and not enough space, time, staff, or funds, tough decisions about euthanasia have to be made. And when you work in a shelter, especially a municipal shelter where they cannot turn away an animal, you have to make room so that you can continue to provide that public service. So then shelters have to make decisions about who may be less adoptable than other animals, and black cats take that wrap.”
According to Soboleski, who is due to graduate in 2024 from the University of North Carolina at Asheville with a degree in biology focusing on Animal Sciences, the majority of the euthanasia procedures carried out in shelters are for black cats, and that is the sad statistic she and Bustamonte are trying to change.
“If we can be a pipeline for shelters to send us their black cats and we can be successful in finding them homes, black cats being euthanized just because they’re black and because the shelters are concerned that they won’t be adopted quick enough to allow them to have space to continue intake will be a thing of the past,” Soboleski said.
The journey to the opening of HBCM began during the pandemic when Soboleski’s Binx’s Home noted the black cat adoption trend in real-time.
“During COVID, we had only online adoptions and we were growing rapidly, so we started doing adoption events with other rescues at local pet supply stores and even an apartment complex one time. And the adoption events never seemed to pan out,” Soboleski said. “I can’t tell you how many times I would see people walk in, walk right past all the black cats, and then ultimately adopt a cat that was not black from another rescue. In most events, we left without a single adoption, while the other rescues would find homes for sometimes up to twenty cats in a single event! So, we decided not to do any more adoption events that didn’t fit our brand and didn’t serve our cats.”
So in 2022, Soboleski created “Find Your Familiar,” a monthly event that sought to eradicate black cat bias among potential adopters—especially those who recognize the unique magic of black cats. A “Find Your Familiar” event was held at a witch shop where Star Bustamonte, who also serves as TWH’s news editor, had been working.
The result was immediately noticeable.
“We realized that black cats and magic go hand-in-hand, and if we want to get them homes, we have to bring them to the people that appreciate them the most,” Soboleski explained.
The plan worked. With the “Find Your Familiar” events underway, Soboleski saw adoption numbers double from 2021-2022. But the event was only monthly, which meant many missed windows of opportunity for adoptions. At around the same time, 59-year-old Bustamonte had decided to leave her job at the witch shop where the “Find Your Familiar” events had taken place.
“The stress of working during the pandemic had taken a toll on me physically, as well emotionally and mentally,” Bustamonte said. “My physician strongly urged me to reduce my stress levels. I really had no intention of ever working in retail again.”
Then, in January of this year, Soboleski asked Bustamonte to manage the social media operation for Binx’s Home. While that aspect of the work appealed to Bustamonte, “the powers that be,” she said, had other plans.
“Binx’s was approached by one of their supporters about partnering to open a combined coffee bar/retail and rescue location—a cat cafe, basically,” Bustamonte explained. “Hannah wanted the retail part to be focused on magical and ritual supplies due to the increased rate of adoption she had seen from doing events at the witch store. In a twist of what I can only describe as divine intervention, one of the locations that had been considered for that idea was owned by a friend of mine. That friend had actually suggested months before that I rent the building she was in the process of renovating and opening some type of shop. I laughed at her and said, ‘Absolutely not, but you are hilarious.’”
Nonetheless, a seed had been planted. A friend suggested that Soboleski and Bustamonte join forces and open a combined magical retail/cat lounge space. Both women knew they had the experience and the skill sets to make the venture successful, and House of Black Cat Magic was born.
“Ultimately, HBCM could provide space and funding to save even more black cats,” Bustamonte said. “I simply could not say no to that.”
And what can customers and locals find at HBCM?
“Beyond the basics – like candles, herbs, ritual tools, etc – we will offer ritual kits that support adoptions and to help a kitty and their new family to adjust to being together,” notes Bustamonte.
Editorial update: HBCM is located in a building under different zoning laws than its current use. They requested city council approval for updated zoning. The new zoning passed unanimously with an “All in favor meow.”
This line of kits includes those for bonding with your new familiar and helping your cat adapt to new situations. Additionally, patrons will be able to purchase kits for end-of-life cat care: ones for easing and accepting such loss, and of course, ones for manifesting and finding “the right furry friend.”
The space will have an altar to Bastet, the cat-headed Egyptian goddess of protection, pleasure, and health. Visitors to HBCM will be able to make an offering for healing for their feline familiars, or for whatever their spiritual needs might be at the time. Additionally, they will find a full line of other products centered on or charged with feline energy.
“Our intent and goal are that all of our curio items will feature cats,” said Bustamonte. “We will be making our own candles, sprays, and other items that will also be safe for use around cats.”
In a major coup, HBCM will be the exclusive brick-and-mortar retailer for Hauspanther DARK cat-centric products. Hauspanther and Hauspanther DARK were created by Kate Benjamin, the “catification” expert on “My Cat from Hell” with Jackson Galaxy. Benjamin has also co-authored many books with Galaxy on how to make one’s home a comfortable space for cats and their owners.
“She’s not only allowing us to carry her Hauspanther DARK line exclusively,” said Soboleski, “but she’s also designing our cat lounge area, and will be attending our Grand Opening in June. We’re extremely excited to have her products in our store and to have her being such a huge part of this project!”
The pair plan to also institute monthly after-school events for cat owners and to build a “catio”—an outdoor space for patrons and their pets. Additionally, they would like to open a large space separate from the main building for workshops and rituals. These particular opportunities will be based on future demand and related funding.
Nonetheless, Bustamonte and Soboleski are confident their aspirations will materialize.
“When the gods and goddesses speak, and Bastet clearly spoke, you do whatever is asked of you—even if you have doubts about how it will work!” Bustamonte said. “Trust me when I say, if a deity wants something to happen, they will do all they can to help make it happen. We’ve certainly seen that over the past several months.”
Soboleski echoes that sentiment, noting that the best way for them to triple their adoptions is to open a physical location to ensure public access to the cats and the products they are offering.
“It’s made a lot of sense for us to try and make this happen. And then when we started trying to do just that, Bastet decided to take it upon herself to just make sure that every obstacle was swept away and that we had a strong web of support behind us,” she said. “At this point, we can’t imagine a reality where we didn’t have House of Black Cat Magic and we’re not even open yet!”
Editorial Note: Star Bustamonte also serves as the new editor at TWH. Ms. Bustamonte was not involved in the coverage or editing of this story.
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