Black cats take 22 percent longer to find owners, says charity

Gingers and tabbies are seen as more fun than black cats, reveals a new survey from Cats Protection. The survey of 1005 people was carried out on behalf of the charity in October 2016. Results have been released ahead of National Black Cat Day, which takes place on October 27, 2016. Black or black-and-white cats – which account for nearly half of all cats coming into Cats Protection’s care – typically wait 22 percent longer to find a new owner than others. Cats Protection has reminded the public that in reality a cat’s colour has no bearing on its temperament. National Black Cat Day aims to encourage more people to adopt a less colourful puss. The survey used a sliding scale. Black or black and white cats were seen as less friendly, playful, vocal and attention-seeking than gingers or tabbies, which typically find new owners faster. Black cats take longer to find owners “There is a tendency to see the black cats as less exciting which we think is because they are much more common among the cat population,” said Cats Protection’s social media manager Gemma Croker. “When people visit any of our branches and adoption centres, they can be faced with a large number of black or black-and-white cats so their eyes tend to wander over to the brighter-coloured tabbies, light tortoiseshells and gingers who look more exciting to adopt. “It’s only natural that people will have some view on what a cat may be like based on its looks. But just like with humans, it’s impossible to make a judgement based purely on how a cat looks. We want to break down the myths and show that beauty really is more than fur deep.” The survey found that 69 percent of respondents think colouring is at least ‘somewhat important’ when adopting a cat. Cats Protection’s national cat adoption centre manager Danielle Draper said: “It can be a real struggle to find homes for the black and black-and-white cats in our care, especially as they account for nearly half of the more than 5,000 cats that are in the charity’s care across the UK." She continued: “By holding our annual National Black Cat Day we’ll be celebrating all the fantastic monochrome moggies from across the UK and hoping to inspire more people to adopt one.” For more information go to www.cats.org.uk/black-cats, www.facebook.com/catsprotection or @CatsProtection on Twitter.