Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Connections Between White Cats And Halloween
Many people have heard that people in animal welfare do not adopt black cats out during the Halloween season. Now this has spread to all white cats as well. This color has appeal to Satanists for it's representation of wholesomeness and virginity.
White cats are well-liked and easy to adopt, but when rescues hold back adoptions the rate of white cats being euthanized skyrockets.
As someone who has been in the animal welfare field for 20 years I have experience running shelters and I have recently started my own rescue. For every animal in my care it is important to find the right forever home. For all these years I would cease adopting black and white cats throughout the Halloween season. When someone would inquire about a cat with these colors I would let them know that they were not available until after October ended.
Each Halloween I would simply ignore the fact that numerous black and white cats were in foster homes for an extra month. I would ignore the euthanasia lists that I received from the county shelters that listed loads of black and white cats and kittens. I was simply doing what every other rescue did, right? I was saving all those black and white cats from the "bad guys." Wrong. Because of me more cats of those colors died. Best Friends Animal Rescue issued a gentle challenge to animal welfare organizations this month when they wrote about all the black cats being euthanized because rescues refused potential adopters.
After being in animal rescue for years, you get a gut sense about people and you know when to deny an adoption. Adoption processes are unique for each organization but usually involve screenings in writing, in person and sometimes even a visit to the home. Why do we stop doing this in October? Do we really think that every person walking in the door wants to do our black or white cats harm?
Most families come and look at cats. They choose based on one that catches their eyes or respond to them. Most do not call and ask if we have white or black cats and how much are they. If this were to occur perhaps that is the time to question. But, don't deny the family that comes in and falls in love with Fluffy because of her stunning white long coat and blue eyes.
Someone who wants a cat to "sacrifice" simply does not need to go through the trouble of being screened and paying a fee. If someone wants to do an animal harm there are enough of them running around free to just take one.
White cats are well-liked and easy to adopt, but when rescues hold back adoptions the rate of white cats being euthanized skyrockets.
As someone who has been in the animal welfare field for 20 years I have experience running shelters and I have recently started my own rescue. For every animal in my care it is important to find the right forever home. For all these years I would cease adopting black and white cats throughout the Halloween season. When someone would inquire about a cat with these colors I would let them know that they were not available until after October ended.
Each Halloween I would simply ignore the fact that numerous black and white cats were in foster homes for an extra month. I would ignore the euthanasia lists that I received from the county shelters that listed loads of black and white cats and kittens. I was simply doing what every other rescue did, right? I was saving all those black and white cats from the "bad guys." Wrong. Because of me more cats of those colors died. Best Friends Animal Rescue issued a gentle challenge to animal welfare organizations this month when they wrote about all the black cats being euthanized because rescues refused potential adopters.
After being in animal rescue for years, you get a gut sense about people and you know when to deny an adoption. Adoption processes are unique for each organization but usually involve screenings in writing, in person and sometimes even a visit to the home. Why do we stop doing this in October? Do we really think that every person walking in the door wants to do our black or white cats harm?
Most families come and look at cats. They choose based on one that catches their eyes or respond to them. Most do not call and ask if we have white or black cats and how much are they. If this were to occur perhaps that is the time to question. But, don't deny the family that comes in and falls in love with Fluffy because of her stunning white long coat and blue eyes.
Someone who wants a cat to "sacrifice" simply does not need to go through the trouble of being screened and paying a fee. If someone wants to do an animal harm there are enough of them running around free to just take one.
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For over 25 years New Cat Condos has been the premiere provider of affordable yet quality cat condos. All of our cat condos are hand built out of Phoenix, Arizona so you can count on the quality you'd expect out of an American made product. Be sure to check out Cat furniture on FaceBook.
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