Adopting older & black cats.... (kittens, male, dogs, litter)

[Miss J 74]

So I had not had the pleasure of having a furry friend in a few years as my ex took my cat in our divorce. I figured it was time.

So I went to a local no-kill shelter, and adopted a lovely 4 year old black male DSH. He is the sweetest thing. In actuality, he adopted me, because he was trying to get my attention, and kept purring and rubbing against me in his cage.

The owner of the shelter told me that he had 2 strikes against him being an older cat, and then being a black cat, as a lot of people do not like adopting them because of the superstition. I have always adopted older cats, as I feel they are already litterbox trained, and generally get left in a shelter so long, that by the time they do get adopted, they are only too happy.

Just trying to figure out why more people don't adopt older pets in general? Also are so many people really that superstitious that they ignore what could be a great pet just because of the color of his fur?

[goyguy]

I think the ageism stems mainly from most people preferring to bring a kitten home. After all, the push to get a pet often comes from a child - and they "always" want a kitten. The sadder part of that is that sometimes when the cuteness wears off the cat is then returned.

As for superstitions, there's no accounting for that. A lot of people by the same token prefer a black cat.
If you've ever been inside a business owned by Asians (especially Japanese or Chinese) you may have noticed a small statue of a calico-looking cat with its left paw raised and the right one resting atop a gold coin. Their superstition has it that having a statue like this helps the business prosper. Only one time did I also hear this, but AA neighbors once mentioned having been owned by a "money cat" which turned out to have been a calico. Funny how these things get started. That in turn could explain why there usually aren't that many calicoes up for adoption.

The stray cat who befriended me starting last summer looks like what would happen if a calico and a black cat had some moments of passion. Based on that I've named her "Blaliko." Maybe being both black and calico means that the good and bad fortune she'd bring have cancelled each other out? LOL

[subject2change]

Black dogs are often the last to be adopted out too, so it's not entirely about superstition. I've heard the theory that they don't show up as well in photographs, but it really hasn't been that many years that shelters have been posting pictures of pets on the internet, so I don't think that's it.

[=^..^=]

Originally Posted by Miss J 74

Just trying to figure out why more people don't adopt older pets in general? Also are so many people really that superstitious that they ignore what could be a great pet just because of the color of his fur?

All too many people believe that anything black is either inferior in some way or related to things like death and funerals. It may be subconscious, but it's there. And some of these people include other human beings in that dislike of black also. I think black cats are beautiful with their shiny gleaming coats. None were at the shelter the day I went to adopt 2 kitties.

[foxywench]

see where i come from balck cats are considered lucky rather than unlucky, and i have a black cat now and adore her (and a tortie)

but when i worked at a shelter black dogs and cats were ALWAYS passed by.
some of the reasons i heard on a regular basis:

1: black animals just look so mean (this actually has its merits, some studies of prison inmates showed that inmates consistently agreed that a home with a large (lab sized or bigger) BLACK dog was pretty much off limits...black dogs are a great theft deterant because they "look mean"

2: Black cats are "bad luck" this is a common one in the US related way back to the witch trial days when cats were considered witches familiars and black were supposedly the devils messengers

3: black is the colr of "death" so obviously black odgs and cats have that bad juju...

4: they just dont photo well... this is also one i agree with, as generally unles syour realy good with a camera a black dog or cat just doesnt show as cleanly as other colors.

age is just a common issue too...i think alot of people assume older animals in a shleter are "damaged goods" or that they "wont have enough time with them" ect...
silly but true.

[Minervah]

I think people want to adopt kittens rather than old cats for the same reason they want to adopt babies instead of older children. They feel the younger the adoptee, the less baggage they will bring with them. The adopters would prefer to start from scratch.

My kitty was two when I adopted her. She had some issues but not any really big problems. I would adopt an even older cat if I were to adopt another when Gracie goes to the Bridge.

Regarding black cats. I love them and have had one. But in some countries, they are considered evil. I remember living in a large city neighborhood where most of the people were from Eastern Europe. I was advised by my neighbor to keep my black kitty indoors on Halloween because their were a lot of surpestitious people in the area who would kill her. Seriously! Just because of superstition.

Also, and this is just a guess. There always seems to be an abundance of black kitties up for adoption. I think this is because black is a kind of default gene and there are so many of black kitties, probably more than any other color so therefore there are more of them that need homes. And I think people tend to like the more colorful coats on kitties.

[CFoulke]

There is no accounting for taste - personally, I don't consider a 4 year old senior and I certainly have no problem with black cats since 4 of ours are entirely black, with 2 tuxedos (we have 23 so other than pure white we love them all and I just lost my little calico baby this past February). I think they are all beautiful, and I am very happy that you were adopted by a sweet lil' boy who will be your bff (best fur friend) for many years to come. Congratulations on adopting a shelter cat, and BTW, I bet he wouldn't mind having a brother or sister too (hint...hint!!!).

[Hawk J]

I love black kittens, puppies, adult black kitties, doogies. I love em all...

[Alinka]

Hawk J,

Maybe the wonderful Oregon air and attitude help with the love!

I love the black kitties and all who have found me were adults. Even those that are/were not all black had some black. I used to curse those who discarded them but have later come to thank them for giving me such opportunities to nurture and love. And I have received more than I have given.

Many have "asked" to come in and there is one condition- once in you are in- 100% indoors only!

[lovecda]

I guess as a photographer, I never really noticed the difficulty with picking up detail in a black cat. I've been adopted by two of them so far in my life, and would happily have another. But since my cats have always been rescues from the wild, I don't really get a chance to pick colors. My current cat is blue with irregular low-grade white spotting. Very cute, but I wouldn't mind adding a black cat to the household again.

I only had one person express superstition about a black cat, and that was my grandfather. I'm pretty sure he just hated cats in general and found it easiest to pick on her because of superstitions surrounding her color.