Keeping Your Black Cat Indoors for Halloween?

Keeping Your Black Cat Indoors for Halloween?

You Might Not Need to Worry

Black cats have been the subject of fear and superstition for ages, but especially around Halloween.  Speculations abound about the torment black cats caught unaware on or around Halloween will endure, and many owners fearfully keep their inky feline friends locked away for the duration.  Is all that fear really warranted?

A headline in the Daily Toreador sums it all up, "Humane Society refuses black cat adoption during Halloween season."  With groups such as the Humane Society fueling these fears, it is no wonder cat owners are afraid for their feline companions and feel the need to resort to locking them up at Halloween.  It's a sad testament to our society that such a headline even bears writing.The good folks over at Fact Checker took it upon themselves to find out how true it is that black cats suffer more during Halloween, and they found their answers.

After interviewing supervisors for regional animal services, a director of a humane society and a director of a feline rescue group, it appears there is no connection between Halloween and increased cruelty to black cats.  In more than 20 years on the job working in animal protection, Bonney Brown has never seen evidence of injury to black cats related to Halloween.

So for you cat owners who are keeping your cats indoors during the Halloween season, you can probably rest easy and let your cats enjoy the great outdoors again.  The biggest concern might be the heightened traffic in your area - black cats are notoriously difficult to spot on a dark night.