Why don't B&W's or Black Cats get adopted?

[whiteforest]

As many others have said, black cats just don't stand out and the same goes for black dogs in shelters.

I've always had black cats, when I was young I had a solid black Persian. When I was in high school I adopted a solid black DSH from a shelter. DH and I adopted a solid black kitten, Gus, after our tabby passed away. Gus was from a litter of 9 kittens - 8 solid black, 1 tabby. We didn't intend on taking a kitten home with us that day, but while we were visiting the shelter the tabby was being adopted. We heard them tell her that the litter was being "removed" that afternoon... So, one feisty little black kitten came home with us, too.

 

[mtbee]

Originally Posted by -_aj_-

my sooty

how could you not fall in love with this





with his big sis





some of my friends are scared of him because he is all black, but hes more scared of them than them of him

SOOTY IS GEORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mrblanche]

This sweet girl, along with a couple of other black cats, was put to sleep a while back at our shelter because we were full and had way too many black cats.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...highlight=leah

 

[xocats]

Originally Posted by mrblanche

This sweet girl, along with a couple of other black cats, was put to sleep a while back at our shelter because we were full and had way too many black cats.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...highlight=leah

That is heartbreaking.

Leah

 

[icklemiss21]

Our newest black one
Hayden

 

[buehler740]

well I dont see why not adopt a black or tuxedo kittie ,I had a few black kitties they both lived til they were 26 so I dont know dont think its a look thing, just finding the wrong people, I love all color cats dont matter to me ,it could be pick with purple poke a dots and I would adopt it , but have seen many homeless or used to be homeless white and tiger and grey and gee all kinds it never seemed to matter what color they were, I am in Michigan where are you? is it a girl or boy?

Originally Posted by MTBee

Reading white cat lovers post about her black cats that are not being adopted and her tuxedos too...

makes me sad that no one adopts them~!

But why not? Is it a look thing?

Has anyone ever noticed that you never = or rarely see a homeless Tiger cat? Or white cat..

Besides my tiger my house consists of Black and Whites, the barn has B&W and Grey and White and a black one.

Just wondering why no one wants a nice little black kitty ....

 

[lilyluvscats]

I personally love black and black and white kitties/ their fur glistens in the sunlight. And I wear a lot of black too.

 

[chrissyr]

I have an evil black kitty named Munch. He's a total a**. Not kidding either. He's a huge bully. Fights everyone. Beats the other kits out of the food bowl. He thinks King snit of terd island. lmao

I know these pics aren't great but here's 2 of my fosters.

That is Bat in the background and the blurr is her brother, Piggy.

And here is Piggy with Bat behind him.

 

[sarahp]

Personally, I love black cats. I've had 3 black cats in my life, and they have all been the most wonderful, amazing cats. Black cats are just so hard to get photos of, you can't see the contours of their face as well, so they don't look as "cute".

Compare this photo:

to this photo of some siblings I was fostering

You're going to be more attracted to the tabby because you can see her face better.

And this is a typical photo of my girl Smudge:

She has bad eyes, so she's usually just a black blob

She's the sweetest cat, but part of the reason we adopted her after fostering her was because I knew being black and having eye problems would unfortunately overcome her wonderful personality and we couldn't bear her sitting at the shelter for months waiting for a home when we were head over heels in love with her.

We have no problems with black and white kitties at our shelter. We don't get them often, so they go fast. Orange cats go fast too. Anything siamese will go fairly fast, tabbies aren't too bad, especially classic tabbies. Torties can sit there a while, depending on their personality, but calico's go fairly fast. We currently have a litter of three 5 month old orange and white boys who will go fast purely because of their colour.

 

[chinacat]

I never realised certain colours / patterns were harder to rehome than others until I read this thread. Neither of my cats are black but before I got cats of my own I looked after a friend's two kitties for about 6 months while she was training for a new job & moving to a new city. One was completely black and she was beautiful, intelligent and mischevious. She definately brought out the 'cat lover' in me, I adored her so I wouldn't hesitate to pick a black cat if I was to get another one.
Colour wasn't a factor when I got either of mine. They were both from 'free to good homes' litters of unwanted kittens. When I got my first cat (Ripley) I had said that I'd prefer a female kitten (as all my previous experience was with queens) and I was given a beautiful red tabby. When I agreed to take a kitten from my friend's cat's litter I got Newt who has tabby marking and very dilute tortoiseshell colouring as her red tabby brothers got picked first and she was left (still think I got the best one though!

)
All your black kitties are gorgeous btw!

 

[killerapple]

Originally Posted by sarahp

Personally, I love black cats. I've had 3 black cats in my life, and they have all been the most wonderful, amazing cats. Black cats are just so hard to get photos of, you can't see the contours of their face as well, so they don't look as "cute".

Compare this photo:

to this photo of some siblings I was fostering

You're going to be more attracted to the tabby because you can see her face better.

And this is a typical photo of my girl Smudge:

She has bad eyes, so she's usually just a black blob

She's the sweetest cat, but part of the reason we adopted her after fostering her was because I knew being black and having eye problems would unfortunately overcome her wonderful personality and we couldn't bear her sitting at the shelter for months waiting for a home when we were head over heels in love with her.

We have no problems with black and white kitties at our shelter. We don't get them often, so they go fast. Orange cats go fast too. Anything siamese will go fairly fast, tabbies aren't too bad, especially classic tabbies. Torties can sit there a while, depending on their personality, but calico's go fairly fast. We currently have a litter of three 5 month old orange and white boys who will go fast purely because of their colour.

Very well said - I completely agree. When we were fostering the kittens we found, it was sooo hard getting good photos of the black kitten - but we were falling in love too. Our kitty Batman is so awesome. I'm glad no one wanted him so we could adopt him ourselves

 

[xocats]

My black beauty Isis ( ck. my siggy) is one of the sweetest kitties I have ever known.

If she had not been pointed out to me at the shelter, I would have passed her by because I could hardly see her in her cage.
Dexter and I have been blessed by her presence in our lives.
Black kitties deserve love too.

 

[mtbee]

Originally Posted by mrblanche

This sweet girl, along with a couple of other black cats, was put to sleep a while back at our shelter because we were full and had way too many black cats.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...highlight=leah

That completly breaks my heart. Her life just begun too. RIP Black Kitty

 

[pandora78]

I personally love black cats. They are my absolute favorite.I have a cat I just rescued from the pound yesterday who is mostly black with a little white, tid bit of orange so she is classified as a tortoiseshell. I also have a black pup. I personally always been found of black animals. I dont understand how anyone can be so superficial.

 

[margecat]

Silly, isn't it? I guess folks are superstitious.

I ADORE black cats. I had 3, until Willi died this year. I love 'em--don't know why--maybe because they are so sleek (although Loki, a.k.a., Jabba The Butt, The Amazing Expando Cat, Expandor, and Blobster) certainly can't be called "sleek" or "svelte" by anybody's standards! I also once had a black Lab.

Maybe they don't like their faces? It's hard to discern the typical feline features on black cats; maybe that's why people don't care for them?

 

[khayos]

I think it's just because they're plain looking. You have a pretty calico next to a solid black kitty and most people go for the pretty looking calico.

I have a TONNNNN of black and b&w kitties hanging out. I don't know where they all came from but I'm feeding at least 4 new ones that just appeared over the weekend.

 

[vampcow]

I LOVE B&W kitties!!!!

I fell in love with them when I first met my sisters all black kitten. It was love at first sight he is sooo pretty and sweet so I told my sister that I wanted a black cat when I finally got my own place.

When I got my apartment a month later she called me and said we have a black cat but he is a tux which means he has some white. I agreed to see him...and fell in LOVE!!!! Moo is literally the NICEST cat and everyone at the Vet just loves it when I bring him in and my friends want to either steal him or have offered to cat sit when I'm away.

My other cat is white with a black head and tail....my mom said she is really cute but weird looking for a cat. I just stuck my tongue out at her and said I didn't care because she is cute.

 

[greycat2]

I have two rescued stray black cats, 1 calico (rescue), 1 grey and white (who is now at the RB - also a rescue), and we're helping a neighbor with a stray b&w tuxedo.

 

[gnaomim]

Do to a messy break-up I had to leave my baby, Emily with my ex ( this was agreed upon when we rescued her but ouch!) but she was a DARLING. (A little psycho but if you were as smart as her and as bored as her you'd be nuts too - we tried everything but just couldn't afford to buy 50 dif toys to keep her happy so I did my best to keep her entertained by rotating toys and regular playtimes.)

My point tho: My ex and I rescued her from the Burbank shelter in LA. She is ALL black with beautiful green and gold eyes, an amazingly sleek coat and the most adorable expressions. She usually photographed well if it was day time and a little light was coming in from outside too. My FAVORITE look for kitties is the B&W or tuxedo. My very first kitten was a tux and he was the sweetest cat I've ever had. Though our very first pet cat was a stray someone dumped on our little farm and she was all black; Sheba. Since, I've fostered several B&W kitties which have literally fallen into my lap at work or while driving home. The most recent is currently being adored by my aunt and her boyfriend.

They are all very happy together along with their 9 y/o golden retriever who also adores her. That's at least one happy ending.

I wish more people would realize that personality is the ONLY trait to go on when it comes to cats. A good fit is FAR better than a "pretty" cat. I think they're all beautiful.

 

[iheartmycats]

Wow, I'm finding this thread so interesting because I've been thinking alot about this exact topic lately. I work for a rescue and yes, black cats are notoriously hard to adopt out but I've found that people also tend to make their decision based even more on age of the cat. If given a choice between a black 10 week old kitten and a 2 yr old long-haired calico/Maine Coon/Himilayan/etc. people go with the kitten every time. That being said, a black DSH adult is REALLY going to have a hard time.

What I find interesting is that children tend to gravitate towards the black cats! When families come to our adopt-a-pets the parents will be like "oh, look at that pretty tabby" and the kid will tell them no, they want a black one lol. At last week's adoption I was talking to a man interested in adopting a kitten who had a young daughter. I happened to mention that black cats tend to have great personalities and he laughed and told me that his daughter had told him already that she wanted a black cat. And incidentally, one of our two adoptions that day was a black cat--well kitten. The couple came in specifically wanting a black cat, so that was great.