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Halloween can be bad luck for black cats.
Because of superstitions about the felines and witchcraft, several area pet shelters don't allow the animals to be adopted in the days leading up to Oct. 31. They fear the animals could be abused or killed by disturbed individuals.
Although reports of such incidents are rare, some shelter officials say they're taking no chances. Others, including the Nebraska Humane Society in Omaha, however, say they are confident that pre-adoption background checks and counseling will weed out potential abusers.
The Cat House in Lincoln has a “blackout” policy during October and discourages black cat adoptions, said Carol Mathias, publicity coordinator and owner of four cats. Mathias said pure white cats can also be targeted.
“We try to be more careful at that season because we invest a lot in our kitties,” Mathias said. “A number are abused or abandoned and have health issues. (The shelter) is the safest place for them.”
She said if someone was insistent about adopting a black cat during October, the person would undergo a more thorough screening than is typical, including checks on past adoptions or a criminal record of animal cruelty, and speaking with the person's veterinarian to see what kind of pet owner the person has been.
The Cat House has had its October blackout policy for eight years, and has never had an incident.
The Capital Humane Society, also in Lincoln, has had its policy for 26 years without incident, according to Robert Downey, executive director. There, black cats are removed from the adoption floor a day or two before Halloween but are put back out right afterward, he said.
The blackout policies are in place because of instances like one in 2004 where a dead black cat was found duct-taped to a cross outside an animal shelter in Iowa City the day after Halloween. In October 2007, San Antonio experienced a rash of feline mutilations.
“The potential for cat abuse increases around this time,” said Carl Raschke, a religious studies professor at Denver University and author of “Painted Black: From Drug Killings to Heavy Metal.” “Usually, it's adolescents that tend to abuse cats.”
He said these disturbed youths are trying to make a statement about their nastiness and are committing acts they think are “satanic.”
“These kids believe that because it's Halloween, they have a license to do this,” Raschke said. “You can't attribute this to satanist beliefs.”
Not all shelters have policies against adopting black cats before Halloween.
The Nebraska Humane Society in Omaha changed its black cat policy about five years ago, as its pre-adoption counseling services changed, said spokeswoman Pam Wiese. Black cats now can be adopted during the Halloween season.
Nothing has been seen at the shelter to indicate people are adopting black cats just to abuse them, Wiese said. Humane Society officials believe most cats abused during Halloween are either strays or outside cats caught by pranksters.
“I don't think someone is going to come and sit through a counseling session and adopt a cat with a microchip and then abuse (the animal),” Wiese said. “People aren't going to go through that and have nefarious intentions.”
Mike Vinci of Lincoln will celebrate this Halloween with his 6-month-old kitten, Miro, who is black with four white paws and a patch of white fur extending from his belly to his lower lip.
“He's a black cat, he's already got Halloween in the bag,” said Vinci, a computer science junior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Although Vinci hadn't heard about harm coming to cats on Halloween, he said he planned to keep an eye on his kitten, just in case.
“That's crazy though,” he said. “I'm going to take precautions and make sure this cat doesn't have any harm happen to him.”
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