By MARSHALL SCOTT

During the month of October, it can be dangerous for tuxedo and black cats across the world. These cats often suffer miserable treatment this time of year. People tend to associate black cats with bad luck from the witch rumors that had happened in the olden years, making them a common target for mistreatment. 

People often adopt black and tuxedo cats as halloween decorations, then quickly move on and get rid of them. Other times it could be worse mistreatments like abuse, and sacrificial rituals and death. 

Starting around the medieval times and continuing on to 2014, while other attempts for cat rituals haven’t been disclosed in more recent timing.This practice has been going on, in a way to “protect” people from evil spirits.  According to the staff from Oakland Veterinary Referral Services, “Many of the old Pagan religions also associated the black cat with witchcraft and evil. This carried through into Medieval times, where witches were said to take the form of a black cat at their will. During the witch trials, black cats were often burned at the stake alongside witches.” 
 

The common misconception is that both black and tuxedo cats tend to bring bad luck towards families who adopt them. These are the reasons why they are the least adopted cats, and why there’s a lot in shelters. The team from Priceonomics writes, “ Black and white cats, also known as “Tuxedo” cats, have an unusually low adoption rate at just below 70%.” In some shelters, workers are even being cautious on letting people adopt these cats during October to make sure the cats are not in any danger. Redlands animal shelter has a strict adoption process.  Often doing a check in by contacting the family to see the wellbeing of their new pet.

Eight month old black cat by the name of “Boo” sits in her cat bowl after trying to capture the red dot from her laser pointer. (MARSHALL SCOTT/Ethic News photo)

 People make sure to keep their black cats indoors during halloween to prevent harm towards them. People sometimes even tend to foster these cats during this time. After fostering them they’ll put them into a no-kill shelter to insure their safety even more. Even creating a small food and sleeping area for them could help the lives of these furry guys.