While some might be put off by their spooky names, the RSPCA is hoping that fans of All Hallows’ Eve will consider taking on a special pet this October 31. And at their Bury, Oldham and District Branch, in Greater Manchester there’s a coven of black cats desperate to find new homes.
The rescue centre has a number of feline residents looking for homes for lots of different reasons, including one who’d been thrown out by their owner because ‘she kept getting pregnant’.
There’s also a gorgeous black cat waiting for a quiet home, and a trio of moggies who are hoping to be rehomed together.
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On average, it takes 10 days longer to re-home a black cat or black and white cat than a ginger one, according to data from the RSPCA in 2018. There is no specific reason why, although superstition and their association with witches has previously been cited as a cause.
Another reason, which also applies to black dogs, is that they’re more difficult to photograph because of their fur, which could play a part in their rehoming statistics.
The first cat looking for a new home is Raven. While ravens have historically featured as harbingers of doom, this Raven is a sweet but shy girl who is looking for someone to give her a chance.
The charity said: “The three-year-old puss loves to come to you for a stroke and is looking for a quiet home with owners who will help her settle in. She could live with another cat and with older children but would prefer a home without a dog and where she can enjoy access to a garden.”
Blair, perhaps named after the famously terrifying Blair Witch Project, was the moggy thrown out to fend for herself after finding herself pregnant. The RSPCA said ‘neutering would have been an easy and simple solution’, but despite being abandoned, she’s a ‘sweet and gentle girl’.
Though she's not a black cat, we thought her seasonal name was fitting for this spooky rehoming roundup. A lover of attention, she loves to play with her chaser toys and will nudge you for a fuss.
Then there’s the trio of cats who have been named after Bram Stoker’s novel, Count, Dracula and Vamp.
Count is a black three-year-old boy, Dracula, also three, a black and white male, while Vamp is a two-year-old black and white female. The bonded threesome arrived in rescue together, and cannot be split up, so are looking for a very special home that will take on this family of three.
The RSPCA added: “They can be a little shy at first but once they gain their confidence they are all lovely friendly cats. Count is the most nervous of the three, he stays in his bed under the shelf most of the time but if you give him time and go to him he really enjoys chin scratches closing his eyes and purring away. No young children for them as they can be a little nervous.”
The rehoming appeal comes at the end of Adoptober - a month-long rehoming drive by the RSPCA to encourage more people to consider fostering and adopting rescue pets.
This year’s campaign has shone a light on a looming animal rescue crisis as more pets are abandoned and taken into the charity’s care. It’s met by falling rehoming rates, which leaves many animals in rescue without a family to call their own.
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