Adopting Black Cats at Halloween?

BOISE, Idaho - No black cat will cross your path this Halloween, not if a northern Idaho animal shelter can help it.

Like many shelters around the country, the Kootenai Humane Society in Coeur d’Alene is prohibiting black cat adoptions from now to Nov. 2, fearing the animals could be mistreated in Halloween pranks — or worse, sacrificed in some satanic ritual.

The risk may be remote, said the shelter’s executive director, Phil Morgan.

“It’s kind of an urban legend. But in the humane industry it’s pretty typical that shelters don’t do adoptions of black cats or white bunnies because of the whole satanic sacrificial thing,” Morgan said. “If we prevent one animal from getting hurt, then it serves its purpose.”

Out of 97 cats at the shelter, 28 are black, Morgan said.

However, some animal experts say the practice does more to hurt animals than protect them.

“Black cats already suffer a stigma because of their color,” said Gail Buchwald, vice president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter in New York City. “Why penalize them any more by limiting the times when they can be adopted?”

Black cats tend to be adopted less often than other felines, Buchwald said.

“Behaviorally, there’s no difference from the color of the cat. It’s tied into this whole mythology about the animal — don’t let it cross your path or some foreboding or foreshadowing of evil — and that’s an outdated superstition,” she said.

It’s not clear how many shelters still seasonally ban black cat adoptions, said Kim Intino, director of animal sheltering issues for the Humane Society of the United States, but the trend seems to be fading — along with the once-common bans on bunny adoptions around Easter or puppy adoptions as Christmas gifts.

“If there were people out there performing rituals with animals, then I would think that Halloween would be a time for that, but a good adoption process would tend to weed that out,” Intino said. “There’s going to be incidents of weird abuse that happen no matter what. The remedy is not banning black cat adoptions.”

Australian Police Dogs to Get Bulletproof Vests


POLICE dogs could soon be wearing body armour following the death of hero canine Titan, who died in the line of duty in Sydney last month.

It follows the success of protective "booties" worn by the State''s police dogs, which are being considered by UK police dog squads. Made of leather and nylon, they protect the animals'' paws against broken glass and cigarettes, and bindis in forested areas.

NSW Police dog squad acting operations manager Inspector Mark Gledson said a ballistics and knife-proof prototype was being discussed with manufacturers.

A progress report on cost and design would be delivered to NSW Police Minister Carl Scully next week, he said.

"After the Titan incident, we had many calls from people wanting to donate money to buy vests," Insp Gledson said.

Titan was stabbed three times while pursuing a man after a seven-hour stand-off at a Lalor Park house in December last year.

The three-year-old had worked as a police dog for 18 months and was the first canine to be killed in the line of duty.

Dog squad Sen-Constable Linda Turpin, handler of Skip for two years, welcomed the news.

"When we search pubs and clubs for drugs, people often kick the dogs or punch them in the head," Sen-Constable Turpin said.

"It''s terrible because they are like your babies."

Insp Gledson said 60 general-purpose dogs in the 110-strong unit would be fitted with vests.

First pet clone is a cat

Researchers in Texas have cloned a domestic cat, producing a two-month-old kitten called CopyCat.

The work is described in the scientific journal Nature and is the first time anyone has cloned a pet.

The cloning of cats interferes with nature and raises serious questions concerning whether a pet can ever be truly replaced

CopyCat, or Cc for short, is a copy of her genetic mother, not of the tabby surrogate cat that actually gave birth to her.

Researchers in Texas have cloned a domestic cat, producing a two-month-old kitten called CopyCat.
The work is described in the scientific journal Nature and is the first time anyone has cloned a pet.

The cloning of cats interferes with nature and raises serious questions concerning whether a pet can ever be truly replaced

Derek Conway, Cats Protection
CopyCat, or Cc for short, is a copy of her genetic mother, not of the tabby surrogate cat that actually gave birth to her.