Black cats not so lucky this Halloween

Halloween is no holiday for the hundreds of black cats who are homeless this year.

The unwanted felines are often overlooked in favour of other colours and at The Blue Cross they account for more than half the cats looking for homes.

Across the charity’s 11 animal adoption centres there are 249 black cats for rehoming, compared to only 39 ginger cats and 18 tortoiseshell cats.

Manager of The Blue Cross adoption centre in Bromsgrove, Neil Edwards, said: "It is so sad that black cats are consistently overlooked in favour of the other colours.

"We don’t know why, perhaps people are superstitious about owning a black cat because they think they are unlucky.

"We’re urging anyone who is thinking about adopting a cat to look closer at black cats who are just as affectionate and loving as the brighter coloured pets."

If a black cat crosses your path in the UK or Japan, it is considered good luck but in the US and much of Europe it means bad luck is on the way.

In Germany it depends which direction a black cat walks in front of you – left to right is good, right to left is bad.

Italians believe that if a black cat jumps on the bed next to a sick person they will soon die but Scots say if a black cat appears on your doorstep, you’re coming into money.

Click here to see some of The Blue Cross animals needing loving homes.