Cape Cod Times
10/29/99
Bad days for black cats
By JOHN LEANING
STAFF WRITER
BREWSTER - Planning to get an all-black, or all-white, cat as a present or
surprise for Halloween?
Don't.
While animal shelters on Cape Cod do not have a blanket ban on releasing
black or white cats to individuals or families over Halloween weekend, staff
will take a closer-than-normal look at potential cat owners before releasing
a feline for adoption.
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The reason is that solid black, and especially solid white, cats are
targets of some extreme occult groups which may practice animal sacrifice or
animal mutilation as part of cult rituals over All Hallows Eve, which runs
from Oct. 30 through Nov. 1.
Almost as bad, cats bought or adopted to be an attraction at a Halloween
party can end up abandoned when the scary festivities end.
"Yes, we do take a very careful stance on adopting black or even more,
white cats, the symbol of purity," said Capt. Thomas White, director of
criminal investigations for the Animal League of Boston, which operates a
shelter and adoption facility in Brewster.
Black cats, White said, are often regarded as a connection to the
supernatural world, and are not harmed.
But white cats, as a symbol of purity, can be hideously mutilated.
"It used to be we would not adopt out black cats, and we also made it be
known we would not adopt out white cats over the Halloween weekend," he
said.
Now, the policy is that with added awareness of potential problems, local
shelter directors make final decisions on whether to let an animal go.
That is also the policy of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals, which maintains an office and shelter in Centerville.
"We used to have a blanket rule to hold all adoptions (of white or black
cats) the week before Halloween, but we no longer do that, particularly on
the Cape," said Carter Luke, the society's vice president of humane
services.
"What we try to do is, trusting our adoption counselors, to match their
families up with animals. Now perhaps we are a little more careful with
solid white or black cats, but we don't want Halloween to be an obstacle to
adoption," he said, adding, "We are all aware some people do weird things to
cats this time of year."
"It is a problem, a national problem. There has been an abnormal amount of
cats stolen from homes, sacrificed and then dumped back on the owner's
doorsteps. It's all over," White said.
"It's no laughing matter. Some say it's only a cat. But a cat is a living,
breathing creature, and it feels pain. Why should it have to suffer more
than anyone else?" he said.
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