My friend Todd and his girlfriend recently rescued a stray cat – who happened to be pregnant. They thought a local shelter would take the kittens, but they were told the shelter couldn’t help them due to a super-long waiting list. Todd says, “We’re keeping the mom but scrambling now to give away the kittens – there’s 3 black ones and 2 orange ones. They’re about a month and a half old and just ready now to leave their mom and go to their new homes.” Black and orange – perfect for Halloween! These cats are currently in Brooklyn, NY. If you think you can adopt one or more of these little cuties, contact me at janine at men and cats dot com and I will pass along your contact information to Todd and have him get in touch with you directly.
just wanted to ask that you be careful with this. i work rescue and have heard horrendous stories about ppl “adopting” black cats around halloween for the sole purpose of torturing them, often to death, as part of their ritual halloween fun. it is so prevalent that my rescue group doesn’t allow us to bring black cats for adoption during the entire month of october as a result. please be careful screening and charge an adoption fee that will help keep the low lifes at bay.
Please let your friends know the following:
I highly suggest waiting to adopt out the black kitten until after Halloween has passed. Most (if not all) shelters refuse to adopt out black cats around Halloween time due to black cats being used in sacrifice and animal cruelty activities at Halloween. Definitely do not advertise that you are adopting out a black cat as that will bring out the “loonies.” 😉
Thanks for the warnings about people who’d want to adopt a black cat with ill intentions – I actually thought that this was an old urban myth but I guess you can never be too careful. Since I know the person who currently has these cats, I can vouch for the fact that he is not a nut job, and I am sure he would not give the cats to anyone who would not be a terrific pet parent!!
(Echoing the other posters) Also, no one should EVER “give away” living beings. All experts agree that an adoption fee should be charged to discourage wackos and those who are irresponsible and/or uncaring of other living beings. They should charge a fee that is high enough to discourage any of the above. PLEASE let them know this. They can visit any caring and informed sanctuary or humane society’s website or call them to obtain information. One excellent source is http://www.bestfriends.org. Another is D.E.L.T.A. Rescue’s website which I do not know offhand; they can GoodSearch or Google to find it.
(Agreeing with everyone above). Charging an adoption fee is essential– it keeps the deranged psychopaths away, and makes sure that those who adopt kittens are doing so for the right reasons.
Many Octobers ago, I moved to NYC and decided to adopt a black cat to help me feel more at home. I’d grown up with several black cats. I went to several shelters only to be rushed out the door. I didn’t understand why anyone would want to turn me away. I was a young professional woman who gave money to ASPCA and was practiced in providing loving homes for animals, ESPECIALLY black cats! Finally, I walked into a small, independent pet shop and said that I wanted to buy a black kitten. The shop owner looked at me and said “I don’t want to be racist, miss, but are you of XYZ ancestry because if you are, and I think I can tell that you are because that is my ancestry, you’re not buying any cat from me.” After I had recovered from my shock and explained how my genetic lines gave me the look I had, she agreed that if I passed a personal inspection, she would sell me a kitten. The inspection included notes from vets who had treated my pets, notes from neighbors attesting to my capacity as a cat mother and a visit to my home. After receiving a plethora of notes, she decided to sell me a beautiful black kitten who delighted me for 16 years. Having lived now for many years in this city of many, many belief systems, some of which involve ritual cruelty to animals, I am in complete support of shelters that refuse to provide black cats in October unless an adoption fee in prepaid and the prospective owner agrees to wait until November before acquiring the cat.