Selfies blamed as black cats get left behind at centre
PEOPLE are refusing to adopt black cats at a Bristol rescue centre – because they don’t look good in selfies.
The Moggery Cat and Kitten Rehoming Centre, based in Bishopston, is regularly overrun with black pusses because no one wants to take them on.
And its founder, Christine Bayka, says the reason people don’t choose black cats is not due to old superstitions, but because they don’t show up well in photographs.
Christine said: “We are in the era of the selfie and these selfies are causing numerous problems for cat rescues.
“So many people live their lives taking photographs of everything and unfortunately black cats do not show up well in photographs.
“When we have cats and kittens to rehome, the tabby and tortoisehell ones always get snapped up.
“But it’s the black ones that get left behind.”
The charity currently has a number of black adult cats looking for homes.
Christina said a family came to look at a cat for rehoming recently, but once they realised it was black, no longer wanted it.
“It was a lovely, friendly cat,” she said. “But once they saw it was black they didn’t want it. They didn’t even want to stroke it.”
In England, black cats are seen as lucky. However in other countries
Michael LLoyd they are associated with witchcraft and are deemed quite the opposite.
Each kitten season, The Moggery is left with lots of kittens looking for homes.
“Kitten season runs from May to October,” said Christine, who opened the centre in 1997.
“The different colour kittens are always taken but again, it’s the black ones that get left.”
The Moggery is now offering free neutering of all black cats during February in a bid to reduce the number of black kittens. “Neutering is so important,” she said.
“One cat can have numerous litters.
“We had one cat which was left behind by its owners in Barton Hill.
“She had three litters in one year, resulting in 13 kittens. “Sadly, leaving cats behind is becoming commonplace.
“People need to understand the responsibilities of owning an animals before taking one on. By neutering black cats for free we hope it will help reduce the number of unwanted black kittens needing to find homes.”
The Moggery began offering free neutering for black cats in 2018 when it became apparent they were being left behind due to them being unphotogenic.
The free neutering will run again throughout February.
Anyone wanting to find out more or anyone keen to give a loving home to one of the Moggery’s black cats can call 0117 9243128.