An adoption drive focused on black cats took place Friday, Sept. 13, at The Poe Museum. (Photo by Mark Newton)
Friday the 13th was a lucky day for 19 cats at The Poe Museum in September, as they found new homes forevermore.
The adoption drive was so successful that members of the Richmond SPCA and Richmond Animal League had given away nearly all of the cats they brought to the museum’s Enchanted Garden within half an hour. The local SPCA brought three more cats, which were quickly snatched up.
One of the fortunate kittens was 8-week-old Vermithor (named for a “Game of Thrones” dragon), adopted by Katie Tanner. “I came out here today because I’ve been looking for a cat for my current cat. She’s a little princess,” she said, “but I’m looking for a little friend, a little boy who’s going to complement her personality, and clearly he’s got one.”
The museum was already home to two black cats, Edgar and Pluto (Pluto died peacefully the following Monday, after 12 years at the museum), making it a natural fit for an adoption event on the cusp of spooky season.
“I’m so happy for all of the cats, that they were able to be adopted that quickly,” said Hannah Rupy, the museum’s marketing and development coordinator. “I was definitely not expecting that.”
The felicitous felines were mostly black kittens, which frequently struggle to find homes compared to their tabby and calico counterparts, often due to superstitions. In “The Black Cat” by the museum’s namesake poet, for example, the narrator says “ancient popular notion” regards them as “witches in disguise.”
“They tend to be a little bit more overlooked,” said Lauren Behringer, RAL’s special event manager, “and so having an event like this that really showcases them is fantastic.” Both Rupy and Behringer say their organizations are open to future Friday the 13th adoption events.
