A study published last October in the Journal of Applied Welfare Science examined the adoption records from a no-kill shelter in New York State to see if physical attributes of the cats influenced the length of stay of cats and kittens in the shelter. Unsurprisingly, younger, lighter-colored cats were adopted more quickly than older cats with darker coats. The real surprise for me was reading that the cats with the greatest length of stay were yellow. Black cats didn’t have the longest stays at the shelter whose data was studied.
But ask anyone who works or volunteers in cat rescue, and they all seem to have a “black cat who no one will adopt” story. Were the numbers in this study that far off?
The ASPCA looked at a broader number of adoptions by looking at the data from fourteen of their partner communities in their Comprehensive Animal Risk Database to look at the risk for black dogs and cats compared to other colors. With nearly 300,000 dogs and cats in their data set, they discovered that more black dogs and cats entered the shelters than any other colors. 33% of the cats entering the shelter system were black.
No wonder there are a lot of black cats waiting for homes in shelters. There’s an oversupply!
The numbers for adoptions showed 31% of the cats adopted from the shelters were black, so there is still a shortfall of black cat adoptions. The sheer numbers of black cats in the system means they can’t be adopted fast enough.
With the black gene being a dominant one, there aren’t likely to be a lower proportion of black cats needing homes in shelters any time soon. So whether the reason that there are so many black cats needing homes is that people prefer other colors of cats or whether there are just so many awesome black cats needing homes, there are obviously more than enough black cats to go around for everybody. The important thing is the make everyone enthusiastic about adopting them so that they don’t stay in shelters or rescues too long and can get into loving forever homes.
References:
Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, Age, Breed Designation, Coat Color, and Coat Pattern Influenced the Length of Stay of Cats at a No-Kill Shelter
ASPCA Professional, Black is the new White
Photo credit: depositphotos/Taden1
It sounds to me like the problem concerning black cats in shelters is more like the problem of ALL cats in shelters – we need to find ways to get them all homes!
In the UK black cats are considered lucky and some people even have black cat charms on their bracelets. Before us there was a black cat – not one stray coloured fur anywhere. He chose Mum when she went to a shelter to see the cats there and would not let her leave without him! He came home with her ( also with a lady tabby cat). He wandered far and wide and all the neighbours knew Maxie as he considered himself one of their friends.
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx
That’s really interesting. Like Summer says…the challenge is to find all shelter cats a home no matter what color they are.
This is interesting. At Cat Care, we have a handful of black kitties waiting for homes, but I do notice that black kitties tend to stay in the shelter a little longer than some of the other-color-coated kitties. What I notice even more, though, is how seldom the seniors get adopted, and most of our black cats are seniors, so that could have something to do with why they are at the shelter for so long.
that is interesting….we have often thought it would be a good statistics problem for a grad student to take as much info as they could get and see if there is a pattern to surrender based on age, gender or color and then do the same for adoptions.
that being said, mom was at the rescue’s adoption center last night and we seem to have an over run on calicos 🙂
The shelter I profile adoptable cats for have 2 black cats that have been there longer than any other, one for 2 years…and in general they get cats adopted quite quickly.
Great article. My very first cat ever was a black cat. I’ve always thought that black cats are some of the more beautiful cats out there – their sleek and shiny black coats are so gorgeous!
That is really interesting. Our Toby worked on Dad as soon as he saw him come into the shelter and that did the trick. The bigger issue is too many cats needing homes. Let us all keep TNR and responsible pet parenting at the fore
Thanks
Timmy and Dad
Black cats are so gorgeous….we can’t understand why a real cat lover would object.
The Florida Furkids
Gweat posty. Weez luv kitties of all shapes, sizes and colors.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Lexi
We have 5 black cats and love each of them. Those who pass them up are missing out!
I just realized I haven’t been getting your posts in my email, I thought you haven’t been writing-I just signed up. I am the proud Mom of 4 black cats.
This is very interesting and it sounds like yellow cats are even more of an underdog (so to speak). I’ve never adopted based on looks, but even so, it’s always been hard to believe that people aren’t attracted to black kitties.
Black cats are so cool and we hope they all get the proper sttention. Hey, To answer your question, I am a medium size cat, but Mom has a really big phone.
Pop has always wanted a black cat but yet when they go to adoption events, they never see any. The fact that 33% of cats who enter shelters are black and 31% who get adopted are black means that only 2% aren’t adopted. Right? Wonder what that figure is for other colors.
We think black cats are beautiful!
Very informative. The ASPCA info was also published here: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-truth-about-black-shelter-pets.html
All colors of animals need great homes.
We do like seeing the 31% number – it’s actually closer (33-31) that we thought. This is why we try to feature black cats as often as possible…. and dispel stupid superstitions that persist in hanging on, too. *sigh*
We love black kitties at our house, and we’d probably all be black if Mom had her way. Our angels Thelma and Twinkle were black, and Mom says they were extra special. Thanks for giving us some statistics. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo