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You are here: Home / Rescue / What Causes Long Stays for Black Cats in Shelters?

What Causes Long Stays for Black Cats in Shelters?

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.

black catBut 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

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January 8, 2015 Filed Under: Rescue 20 Comments

Comments

  1. Summer says

    January 8, 2015 at 2:18 am

    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!

    Reply
  2. Hannah and Lucy says

    January 8, 2015 at 6:06 am

    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

    Reply
  3. The Island Cats says

    January 8, 2015 at 6:53 am

    That’s really interesting. Like Summer says…the challenge is to find all shelter cats a home no matter what color they are.

    Reply
  4. Fur Everywhere says

    January 8, 2015 at 8:43 am

    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.

    Reply
  5. Random Felines says

    January 8, 2015 at 9:01 am

    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 🙂

    Reply
  6. Melissa & Truffles says

    January 8, 2015 at 9:10 am

    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.

    Reply
  7. Kitty Cat Chronicles says

    January 8, 2015 at 11:08 am

    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!

    Reply
  8. Timmy Tomcat says

    January 8, 2015 at 12:10 pm

    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

    Reply
  9. The Florida Furkids says

    January 8, 2015 at 4:08 pm

    Black cats are so gorgeous….we can’t understand why a real cat lover would object.

    The Florida Furkids

    Reply
  10. Dezi and Lexi says

    January 8, 2015 at 4:25 pm

    Gweat posty. Weez luv kitties of all shapes, sizes and colors.

    Luv ya’

    Dezi and Lexi

    Reply
  11. Cats of Wildcat Woods says

    January 8, 2015 at 5:12 pm

    We have 5 black cats and love each of them. Those who pass them up are missing out!

    Reply
  12. Ellen Pilch says

    January 8, 2015 at 7:10 pm

    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.

    Reply
  13. Annie says

    January 8, 2015 at 7:37 pm

    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.

    Reply
  14. Brian says

    January 8, 2015 at 7:39 pm

    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.

    Reply
  15. Cathy Keisha says

    January 8, 2015 at 9:10 pm

    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.

    Reply
  16. Sweet Purrfections says

    January 8, 2015 at 9:53 pm

    We think black cats are beautiful!

    Reply
  17. Raven says

    January 8, 2015 at 10:29 pm

    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.

    Reply
  18. Maxwell, Faraday & Allie says

    January 12, 2015 at 6:59 pm

    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*

    Reply
  19. Kitties Blue says

    January 15, 2015 at 11:36 pm

    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

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The Caturday Report: The Love Edition says:
    January 10, 2015 at 3:10 am

    […] And the Sometimes Cats Herd You blog examines the shortfall of black cat adoptions to black cat intakes in shelters. […]

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