Black cats hope love overcomes bad rap

Stretching their long black arms as far as they could out of their cage, a trio of coal-black kittens waved their paws in a wild attempt to grasp an outstretched finger. Hanging on the front of their cage at Heartland Humane Society was a sign that read “Please do not overlook me because I am not fluffy and colorful. I am sleek and black and magnificent.”

In the cage next to them, a tiny black kitten named Samuell was bouncing on top of his brother’s tail — not exactly regal behavior, but amusing nonetheless.

In a nearby room, two more black baby cats pranced alongside their stripy siblings, and in the adult cat room, a number of proud, green-eyed onyx cats held sway.

There are currently more than 100 adoptable cats at Heartland, and 24 of those are black. Executive director Dani Bolda explained that this is not because black cats are more common than other types; it’s simply that when visitors come calling, they often overlook black cats for something with stripes or brighter-colored fur.

“The black ones just kind of melt in,” Bolda said, pointing to a kennel of kittens where the white-and-brown striped fluffballs were obvious, and the short, sleek black cats looked more like kitten shadows.

But it isn’t just a matter of boldness. There is a lingering superstition among many people that black cats represent black magic, or at the least, bad luck. The Western world may have stopped burning alleged witches, but their so-called sidekicks are still getting a bad rap.

“A lot of people, when you hear black cat, you think of superstitions,” Bolda said. Some visitors complain when they come to visit that there are too many black cats, and some express fear about taking the cats home.

In fact, Bolda said, black cats are some of her favorites at the shelter. They tend to be confident and affectionate, especially because black cats have a longer shelf life at the shelter, so they get more steady affection from the staff and learn to expect it from humans.

“They turn into love bugs,” she said. “They hang around your neck like scarves.”

Bolda recognizes that some miscreants will harm black cats on Friday the 13th and Halloween, but that doesn’t stop the society from adopting out black cats during October.

The shelter has a strict screening policy, requiring all adopters to show photo identification, and the cats are microchipped, so that if harm comes to them later it can be traced back to the adopter. Also, an adoption fee discourages most people who are looking to cause trouble with black cats.

Bolda recommends black cat owners take their cats in on Halloween, just to prevent the opportunity for harm. Likewise, dogs should be taken in from the yard and kept away from the front door during Halloween night, because dogs aren’t used to masks and loud children knocking on the front door.

Also, because the door is opened so frequently during trick-or-treat time, dogs and cats could take the opportunity to bolt.

Bolda hopes cat lovers keep an open mind when they come looking for an addition to their homes. It’s important to get past the old superstitions and recognize that just as much love, energy and intelligence resides in the sleek black bodies as in their stripy, fluffy siblings. And there’s plenty to love.

“This,” Bolda said, “has definitely been a year of black kittens.”

Reference: www.gazettetimes.com

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