Thursday 3 November 2011

Black cats down on their luck at shelters

There's an interesting story in today's Toronto Star about how black cats and dogs are adopted last.

Whispy slinks through the halls of the Toronto Humane Society, his dark figure jarring against the white floors and walls.

As its longest resident, Whispy has been living at the animal shelter since July 2010. It seems no one wants to adopt the 11-year-old cat because, workers say, he is black.

It’s a problem that plagues shelters everywhere: Ebony-coloured cats and dogs are often the last to be adopted, says Heidi Kulla, an adoption agent at the society.

“People just want that dog or that cat that looks really beautiful,” she said. “They don’t see black cats as beautiful. They just see them as plain.”

Black cats have the lowest adoption rates of all animals, said Kulla. After Whispy, the society’s second-longest resident is Lucky, another black cat who has lived at the shelter since January. The average length of stay for cats is 2½ weeks.

You can read the rest of the story here.

Really? I've had a couple black cats (Mama and Nikki) and they were very sweet and beautiful. Sister Sarah has a black cat named Shadow. That's a picture of Whispy ... isn't he adorable?!

Do you have anything against black cats and/or dogs?

6 comments:

Adaptable Kay said...

I would have never thought this was true!

Seriously, I think black animals are extremely beautiful-I just don't understand O.o

I think I'm going to adopt a black cat or dog in the future!

Unknown said...

When I was getting a dog, I told my hubby that all I wanted was one that didn't have a black face. I find them intimidating somehow. Black cats though are really elegant in my books.
Rosemary

Isabel said...

I can see black cats but not a dog.

Coupon Trunk said...

I personally tend to prefer black cats and dogs. With the cats I think maybe it's linked to superstition.

The Host said...

Awwwww! I love black cats. If I didn't already have my quota (2 cats and a little kid is my limit) I would totally adopt one. Or 12.

Andi said...

We recently adopted 2 black kittens. We were at the shelter looking for a kitten and they were doing an education campaign about how black cats are less popular, which prompted us to take a closer look at all of the little black darlings waiting to be adopted. Instead of finding just one, we fell in love with two -- a brother and sister!