CFA In The News
Black Cats "Back in Black"
Best Friends Network is hosting the “Back in Black” National Adoption Event from August 15, 2011 until September 17, 2011 to honor the extraordinary and multidimensional black canines, felines and everything in between.
These black beauties are in and of themselves enough to soften any heart, but to up the ante, Best Friends Network and participating Network partners are volunteering to reduce adoption fees by 50 percent for all black pets adopted during the event.
Black is a classic color, sophisticated and restful; often considered mysterious, awakening a sense of potential and possibility.
A participating No More Homeless Pets® Network partner
Chesapeake Feline Association (CFA) is helping promote “Back in Black” by celebrating the “beautiful, healthy black cats and kittens” needing homes at their facility in Perryville, Maryland. Jill McCoy, CFA spokesperson, describes Chesapeake Feline Association as an entirely volunteer, no-kill shelter originally organized “to address the overpopulation problem,” but later matured to include “TNR (trap/neuter/return), rescuing sick and injured [cats and kittens], educating the public on the importance of spay/neuter, and holding adoption events to find suitable ‘forever homes.’”
“Back in Black”
Jill says CFA decided to participate in the “Back in Black” promotion “because we know, from personal experience, that there are many misconceptions and false superstitions about ‘black cats.’ Our goals are to find happy, healthy, forever homes for all of our cats, not just black cats.”
The cat’s ability to distinguish one color from another is limited; it’s only fair we look on them with the same “limitation.” Why would the human decide the fate of a cat based on color when clearly the cat’s substance, character, ability to love is a far greater determiner of compatibility with the human? Superstition, Jill explained, is the primary reason someone would choose not to adopt a black cat. To resolve, logically, this urban legend, the volunteers at the Chesapeake Feline Association facility ask the visitor to “come to our adoption center with an open heart — they need only to sit on the floor, relax and let a kitty choose them.”
One cuddly kitten
Tiny Tim is a new comer to the shelter, but so charming, he's already been placed with a foster mom. You may notice Tiny Tim’s unusually shaped front legs. He is a 3-week-old special needs black kitten who, his veterinarian believes, may have arthrogryposis, a rare disorder presenting as rigidity in the joints. Although Tiny Tim seems to be going through a bit of a rough patch right now, Jill is encouraged, “our experience with these little special needs kittens has been very positive.”
CFA has been told surgery just might do the trick. He is bottle fed at the moment and not quite ready for adoption, but he’s a resilient little fellow looking for a family of his own. If you would like to learn how you can help and/or adopt Tiny Tim, please visit the Chesapeake Feline Association website for more information.
Chesapeake Feline Association speaks for itself
“CFA is an organization that focuses all of its energy on addressing the overpopulation crisis facing cats today," continues Jill. "We are a small organization, but one of just a few that is focusing on the feral cat population. These are cats that no one will claim; however, they are breeding and adding to an already critical situation. In 2011 alone, we have already trapped, neutered and released 628 feral cats. This does not, of course, include the 500 plus that we have rescued and taken into our adoption facility.”
One last word
Jill described the black cats' special qualities with words like exotic, sophistication and unbounded affection. These words could describe any cat of any color. Therein defines the Back in Black campaign. It is not to distinguish the black cat from other breeds, or to weaken the misconceptions, as much as its goal is to strengthen the premise that all cats are worthy of a loving home regardless of her “cover.”
How you can help
Photos courtesy of Jill McCoy, Chesapeake Feline Association
