COUNTYWIDE : Adoptions of Cats Halted Temporarily

Animal shelters in Ventura County are again banning adoptions of black cats to thwart pranksters and cultists from abusing the animals on Halloween.

For the ninth year, the Humane Society of Ventura County halted the adoptions at its Ojai shelter Saturday, and the ban will be extended to other animals this Saturday. It will be lifted after Oct. 31.

Ventura County’s Animal Regulation Department will ban black cat adoptions beginning Monday at its Camarillo and Simi Valley Shelters, a practice that has gone on for several years.

“People are bizarre,” said Kathy Jenks, director of the county department.

“There are the goofs who are having a Halloween party and want some black cats for decoration. Then they want to bring them back.”

The other problem is that youths abuse the cats for fun, usually burning them with lighter fluid and matches, Jenks said.

“That’s flat animal cruelty,” she said.

She estimated that the county shelters end up with half a dozen cats after Halloween that have been tortured and mutilated.

Usually, someone finds them and calls the shelter.

Prosecution of people for this type of animal abuse had been rare, she said, even before the district attorney’s office announced last month that it doesn’t have the money to prosecute minor offenses, including misdemeanor animal cases.

“At least it was nice to think we could prosecute,” Jenks said.

She also worries about cultists who seek out cats at Halloween.

“Halloween is a major holiday for practitioners of satanic ritual,” she said.

“Those things call for animal sacrifices. There is a lot of that practiced in Southern California.”

Officials at both shelter operations will hold a black cat for a potential owner until after Halloween. They advised pet owners to keep all pets in on Halloween.