Black cat finds kindness from strangers

By Ralph Ellis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A little black cat crossed paths with the wrong person on Halloween before being rescued and taken to an animal hospital.

Somebody burned the fur on a kitten’s head Saturday with acid or some other corrosive substance, said Deborah Smith-Callahan of the rescue group PeachState Pet Partners. She said the attack was Halloween related.

“This is a black cat,” she said. “There were other kittens around. This is the only one it happened to.”

But animal rescue groups disagree on whether there's a connection between Halloween and attacks on black cats.

Smith-Callahan said some groups don’t put black cats up for adoption during October because of fear the cats will be abused or tortured. The Cherokee County Humane Society and FurKids follow that policy, but two other local shelters don’t.

Miguel Abi-Hassan of the Atlanta Humane Society said, “I don’t think we’ve established a trend of seeing more abuse on Halloween than any other day.”

Cobb Police officer Nathan McCreary, spokesman for the Cobb Animal Shelter, said shelter workers pay attention to the people who want to adopt during all seasons. “If they sense any ill will, the adoption would not be allowed to go through until fully investigated,” he said.

Genesis Burroughs discovered the injured kitten Saturday morning at her Stockbridge apartment complex when she and others heard painful mewing.  Burroughs bathed the cat and applied ointment. After failing to reach a local animal shelter, she posted photos and a plea for help on Craig’s List.

Another PeachState Pet Partners volunteer saw the posting and drove from the north side of Atlanta to Stockbridge to pick up the cat.

The rescue group realized the cat needed medical attention to survive. On Monday, it checked into the  Alpharetta Animal Hospital. The cat's fur will never grow back, Smith-Callahan said, but it has a friendly personality and should find a home. The rescuers  named it Sweetie.

“She’ll still look bad but won’t need medical care," she said. "We think she’s going to make it.”

Anybody interested in adopting the cat should go to www.pspp.petfinder.com .