Anyone here own a black kitty too?

[Glitzie]

I was pre warned when I adopted Salem by nieghborhood kids.
This happens here to, I guess? I keep him in during Hallow's Eve &
Halloween.

Ban on Black Cat Adoptions Questioned


Ban on Black Cat Adoptions Questioned
By REBECCA BOONE, AP

BOISE, Idaho (Oct. 28) - A black cat won't cross your path this Halloween, not if a northern Idaho animal shelter can help it. Like many shelters around the country, the Kootenai Humane Society in Coeur d'Alene is prohibiting black cat adoptions from now to Nov. 2, fearing the animals could be mistreated in Halloween pranks - or worse, sacrificed in some satanic ritual.
The shelter's executive director, Phil Morgan, said that while the risk may be remote, the policy will remain just in case.

"It's kind of an urban legend. But in the humane industry it's pretty typical that shelters don't do adoptions of black cats or white bunnies because of the whole satanic sacrificial thing," Morgan said. "If we prevent one animal from getting hurt, then it serves its purpose."

Some animal experts, however, say the practice does more to hurt animals than protect them.

"Black cats already suffer a stigma because of their color," said Gail Buchwald, vice president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter in New York City. "Why penalize them any more by limiting the times when they can be adopted?"

Idaho Humane Society spokeswoman Dee Fugit said that while the temporary adoption bans used to be more common, several years of working in Idaho has proven to her there's no need for such measures.

"If somebody comes in here and they're strange enough that we'd question why they're adopting a black cat on Halloween, then we're probably not going to adopt any animal to them," Fugit said from her Boise office. "It doesn't seem to be a justifiable reason for not adopting black cats. We are absolutely inundated with cats that need homes right now."

Black cats tend to be adopted less often than other felines, Buchwald said.

A study published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science in 2002 comparing coat color in shelter animals found that black or dark brown cats were much less likely to be adopted than white, gray or mixed-color cats, Buchwald said.

"Behaviorally, there's no difference from the color of the cat. It's tied into this whole mythology about the animal - don't let it cross your path or some foreboding or foreshadowing of evil - and that's an outdated superstition," she said.

It's not clear exactly how many shelters still seasonally ban black cat adoptions, said Kim Intino, the director of animal sheltering issues for The Humane Society of the United States, but it's a trend that seems to be fading - along with the once-common bans on bunny adoptions around Easter or puppy adoptions as Christmas gifts.
"If there were people out there performing rituals with animals, then I would think that Halloween would be a time for that, but a good adoption process would tend to weed that out," Intino said. "There's going to be incidents of weird abuse that happen no matter what. The remedy is not banning black cat adoptions."

As for pet-lovers dying to take home a feline in Kootenai County, the shelter is happy to adopt out animals, Morgan said. Would-be black-cat owners will simply have to wait a few days. There are plenty to choose from - out of 97 cats at the shelter, 28 are black, he said.
If nothing else, he said, the ban gives the shelter a chance to educate the public about other dangers pets may face during the Halloween season.

"It gives us a chance to remind people about safety and their pets. Always make sure that you keep Halloween candy out of the reach of pets, and if you own any cat I would make sure it stays inside. Dogs can get frightened by all the kids in costume, and the constant door opening of trick-or-treating gives animals a chance to run away," he said.

I do not take any chances with this & my baby "dog".

[tessa_s212]

Our local shelter does the same thing. No black cats can be adopted out until a week or so after halloween.

[Cassiepeia]

It's sad that they have to be protected. I don't know how anyone could harm an animal on purpose. It makes me want to cry.

Funnily enough...I've always thought of black cats as being lucky. Must be a cultural thing.

Cass.

[Glitzie]

My next cat will be a white female named Sabrina. Although I am very partial to black kitties.

[MazieDog]

We have two black kitties... a male, named Toby, and a female, named Tazz.. They're pretty easy to spot in the snow (whenever we do have snow, that is...)

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

I have 3 black kittens still looking for homes from the two litters that were dumped here. Whether it seems silly or not they won't be adopted until after Halloween. My black kitty Bruce ( Bruce Wayne The Batman ) lived to be 14. I've always had a soft spot for the black kitties.

[mom2cocoa]

I have a 6 year old black kitty named Jake. He never goes outside though. Halloween or not, he's an inside kitty.

[TinyAlbinoDancer]

Sonja, I think that's very wise. It never hurts to be cautious, and I would certainly do the same.

We keep all pets in on Halloween, though this year the doggies will have to go out with supervision. It's too scary thinking of one night of negligence having the possibility of leading to a tortured death.

[Amy Z]

Well, I have black with orange marble color - tortishell something. Her name is Squeaky, she's 15 years old now. My cats never goes outside, they all are indoors.

[rmci]

My black 10 year old cat is indoors only, thank goodness. I've heard the same stories and black cats are not available for adoption until the second week or so in November.

[Jamila]

My cats are also indoor. One is mainly black and the other is tortishell/calico.

It's smart to keep them in around Halloween. Better safe than sorry.

[ewarp]

We discussed placing a ban on black cat adoptions this year at the shelter.

We decided it wasn't necessary. A $125-$150 adoption fee helps to dissuade people looking to get a cat as a decoration. Our interview process helps discourage others. I just looked up our stats... we adopted 0 cats on halloween. We hadn't adopted out a black one for 12 days before that.

I understand that the mutilation and sacrificing of cats has occurred and could occur again (though there is some debate as to how prevalent it is). That said, if people are hellbent on harming or sacrificing an animal, it's possible for them to adopt a cat weeks (or even months) in advance. There's no way you can ban black cat adoptions for forever. What about the other satanic holidays? How many shelters deny adoptions those days?

What about cats adopted out to what seemed to be a great home that end up being neglected or abused? For instance, we adopted out a sweet lab to a very nice family. Their neighbor's son took the dog, killed her, and left her in a dumpster- all for no reason.

Publicizing this ban on adoptions is simply encouraging the superstition that black cats are evil/bad. It plants a seed of an idea - mutilation, torture, sacrifice. Yes, this is a real risk- but I think that banning black cat adoptions won't do much to help. It has been recorded that they'll use other colored cats, dogs, rabbits, goats, and other animals. What's to stop them from grabbing someone's outdoor cat? The dog barking in the back yard?

What about the children that have suffered satanic ritual abuse? Do we lock our children up on Halloween and other satanic holidays?

I'm not condoning this sort of disregard for animals and children, I simply don't believe that banning the adoption of black cats for one day out of the year is a valid precaution to take.

[roman]

at the shelter i volunteer at we just brought in 2 black kittens

picture this an animal shelter trying to get their animals adopted and all of a sudden a old lady starts accusing us of satanism just because we had the black cat

freaky stuff