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Ban On Black Cat Adoptions During Hallowe'en Week

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ogopogo3

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I would have thought this was prime urban legend material, but apparently it's true:

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.
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And here (Kingston, ON, Canada). They also won't adopt out animals during the Christmas season.
 
Hey hang on.

Have you ever seen a black cat?

(except my Kaze who is in actuality dark brown.)
 
palcat.jpg
 
escargot1 said:
palcat.jpg
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:shock: :shock: It was a good job I wasn't drink my coffee when I saw that photo or I'd now be cleaning the keyboard/screen/desk etc. Most amusing.
 
We could sacrifice it if it hadn't already been invaded by an arse-demon
 
I adopted a black cat just last week. Of course this wasn't from my local shelter, he just showed up on my back porch and never left. I guess that means he adopted us! but he is a love and we all really like him and we plan to keep him.
 
Slejpner said:
We could sacrifice it if it hadn't already been invaded by an arse-demon
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Hell's smells, you're right! Let's get that kitty shipped over to the Orb Thread and watch them salivate. It's a one-eyed arse-demon too!

Speaking of eyes, mine must be getting worse - as long predicted - I thought escargot had just found a novel place to stick her latchkey. :shock:
 
Cat's bottoms always make me laugh. You see the front half of a cat and they're so graceful and elegant - almost otherworldly, then you get a look from behind and suddenly they're just animals again.
 
ban on black cats

I had a black cat when I was a kid.It has been proven in surveys that black cats are the least adopted cats.They are considered unlucky,they dont photograph well(that was a gross photo)and people want the pretty calico,tabbies and tuxedo cats.And it gets even worse with dogs.Black dogs look more intimidating,more aggressive.You associate black dogs with german shepards,rottweilers,chows,and dobermans.Some animal shelters call it the "black dog syndrome"
 
We've always had a black cat around. Jeff is the current one. When my daughters used to pose for 'witchy' pictures for a website, Jeff would walk in and position herself perfectly, as if she knew what was expected of her. 8)
 
We had an adopted black cat some years ago. Photographing him was near-impossible, you just end up with a black cat-shaped silhouette - I only got decent pics in bright sunlight. He was a lovely, sweet-tempered cat and much missed. :miaow:
 
I always order my black cats well in advance. I know when there's gunna be a rush on.
 
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