Photo: MSPCA-Angell
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Local animal shelters are trying to find new homes for cats over Halloweekend.
Four MSPCA-Angell locations, Berkshire Humane Society, Lowell Humane Society and Baypath Humane Society have waived adoption fees on some cats on Oct. 31 and Nov 1. Angell's Alyssa Krieger said there are about 100 cats involved in the Spirit Cat Halloween program.
"[Some are] shyer cats who need a quiet house, but some of them are cats, like Eli, who has a medical condition," said Krieger. "Some of them are maybe a little bit more temperamental."
According to MSPCA-Angell, cat surrenders at their shelters are up 20% at this time compared to last year. In addition to the influx of available pets, the event is also meant to dispel rumors about black cats, which tend to take the spotlight this time of year.
“Black cats are often unfairly maligned—some people think they’re bad luck or harder to adopt in general—but it’s worse around Halloween. There are even shelters that won’t adopt out black cats in October because of myths, like adopters using them for some kind of sacrifice or satanic ritual,” said Mike Keiley, MSPCA-Angell Vice President of Animal Protection.
Krieger said some of the cats in the fee waived program have been in the shelters for several months.
"We are hoping to get every single one of them into homes, so it's going to be a challenge. We need as many people to step up as possible," said Krieger.
WBZ NewsRadio's Suzanne Sausville (@WBZSausville) reports.