An animal charity in Manchester has appealed to the public to ditch negative attitudes towards black cats in order to encourage adoption applications.
This is amidst new RSPCA figures which revealed that black cats are disproportionately abandoned compared to cats of other colours.
In a recent Facebook post, Stretford-based charity The Society for Abandoned Animals discussed two of its longest residents – Stevie and Cher – a ‘friendly and affectionate’ pair of female black cats who have long been overlooked, likely because of their colour.
They described how, despite the good temperament of the animals, the pair have ‘spent the majority of their short lives’ with the charity.
“They’ve seen so many cats and kittens go to their forever home” while getting very few applications themselves, the post read.
Stevie and Cher’s sister, who was not black, was reserved and adopted within days, however the pair still remain with The Society nearly 200 days later.
The charity puts this down to the fact that black cats have historically been associated with witchcraft, as well as the fact that they’re ‘harder to take quality photos of.’
In a statement, they said: “When we put litters of kittens who are colours such as tabby’s, ginger, grey etc we get flooded with applications regardless of their personalities but sadly the black kittens get very few applications and often spend much longer in our care.”
The Society also highlighted how this rehoming problem often extends to black and white cats too: “Whilst we love all of the cats in our care equally, we see time and time again that black cats (as well as black and white) get much less interest than other colours and it is really sad to see.”
Recent research published by the RSPCA sadly supports these claims, revealing that black cats are not only three times more likely to come into RSPCA care than cats of other colours, but also take nearly three times longer to rehome.
The Society for Abandoned Animals is therefore looking to the public to abandon both superstition and the need to adopt cats based on their photogenicity.
They believe that people should instead choose to rehome animals based on their personalities and suitability for each household.
The charity has all its available cats listed on its website, as well as an Amazon wish-list for those who wish to support by donation.
As they are also celebrating their 60th anniversary this year, The Society for Abandoned Animals has a number of events coming up, which will offer Manchester residents an opportunity to get involved and give their support.
Photography credits: Peter James