Written by PETA
Letting our animal companions wander the mean streets is careless and dangerous at any time of year, but that's especially true around Halloween, and even more so if the animal is a black cat. But some people seem to be in extreme denial about the perils that Halloween poses for ebony-colored felines.
Take the Sowards family of Florida. According to a newspaper article, the family let their black cat, Jinxy Boo, outdoors in the late afternoon on Halloween. The next morning, Jinxy Boo showed up on their patio with injuries so severe that she had to be euthanized. A veterinarian suspects that someone may have placed a firecracker in Jinxy Boo's rectum and exploded it.
That's appalling, but get this: According to the article, Jinxy Boo is the third cat the Sowards have lost around Halloween. The third cat! Apparently, the family got her to replace their previous black cat who disappeared on Halloween.
There is no excuse for abusing animals, and anyone who does so is probably a serial killer in training, but if we let our cats or dogs outdoors alone, we are effectively handing our companions over to animal torturers with a sign around their neck that says, "I'm all yours!" Let's promise not to let our beloved animals end up like Jinxy Boo: allow them outdoors only on closely supervised excursions.
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
I have the honor and pleasure of having a black cat as a member of my family. She gives us so much pleasure. But I am aware that there are cruel people in this world who still believe that all black cats are minions of evil and should be destroyed. So, on Halloween, we make sure that our Luna stays behind closed doors. We love her too much to let her wander and possible be killed or injured. This Florida family apparently has not learned their hard taught lesson about protecting their treasured family pet. I hope that they will not replace their Jinxy Boo because they obviously don't have enough smarts to know how to protect their pet.
I can understand keeping your cats in at times of great risk...I do myself at Easter and other local celebrations where there are stangers in the village, but keeping them in all the time? Cats are by nature wanderers...if they are brought up by their mothers they are taught to stay away from people other than those they know and trust....surely this is a better life for them than effective imprisonment in a house?
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