Black and White Pets in October: Ritual Myths, Real Risks and How to Rehome Safely

Every October the same warning goes around: don't give away black cats, and be careful with black or white dogs and cats, because people take them for rituals around Halloween, the Day of the Dead and All Souls' Day. Some shelters even stop adopting them out until November.

Is it true? The honest answer is more complicated than either "it's a myth" or "it happens everywhere." Here's what we know, what we don't, and what actually keeps animals safe during these weeks.

Why People Say This

The superstition is centuries old. In ancient Egypt cats were honored, and the goddess Bastet was shown with a cat's head. In medieval Europe that changed: a papal letter from 1233, the Vox in Rama, was later read as tying black cats to the devil, and black cats became linked to witches during the witch hunts. The Puritans carried that fear to America (HISTORY (opens in a new tab)). Halloween, with its witches and black cats, keeps the image alive every year.

Shelters in some countries pause adoptions every fall. In Mexico, the animal welfare office in Ciudad Juárez suspended adoptions of black and white cats in October 2024 (N+ (opens in a new tab)). This year, Juárez paused cat adoptions for the month and a group in San Juan del Río paused black dog and cat adoptions from Oct. 15. A rescuer in Cancún said five to eight cats were reportedly killed in early October, although that hasn't been officially confirmed (UnoTV (opens in a new tab)).

Animal groups in Spain give the same advice. After a ram's head and legs were found near Madrid in October 2024, a spokesperson for the Spanish animal group ANDA told Todo Alicante (opens in a new tab) that illegal practices increase at this time of year, and advised shelters to screen adopters carefully and, if in doubt, wait until January. A researcher in the same article explained that some traditions believe rites performed on the eve of All Souls' Day carry extra power.

There are real cases of cruelty. Network for Animals (opens in a new tab) reports a black cat killed by superstitious people and hung from a tree in South Africa, and notes that some fosters and shelters take extra care with black kittens around Halloween.

Animal sacrifice is real in some religions, including here in South Florida. In traditions like Santería, Candomblé and Palo, animals are offered in ceremonies. A study of Candomblé temples in Brazil found that the color, sex and behavior of the animal are matched to the specific deity, which helps explain why people associate certain colors, including white and black, with rituals (Brooks, Alves and Léo Neto, 2009 (opens in a new tab)). In 1993 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Hialeah's ordinances aimed at Santería sacrifice, ruling unanimously that they targeted one religion (Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (opens in a new tab)).

What the Evidence Actually Shows

There's no solid proof that pets are taken in large numbers for Halloween rituals. Animal welfare experts in the U.S. have looked for it for years. Best Friends Animal Society (opens in a new tab) says there is no evidence that adopting out black cats around Halloween is riskier, and points to experts who found no confirmed statistics, court cases or studies. The Humane Society's HumanePro (opens in a new tab) describes a clear lack of evidence. Snopes (opens in a new tab) found reports that turned out to be cats killed by coyotes or cars, and calls the overall picture inconclusive. Network for Animals itself says satanic abduction is probably not likely.

Most documented ritual remains in South Florida are farm animals, not pets. In 2018, activists found about a dozen dead chickens and three goats, plus turtles chained near the Rickenbacker Causeway, after a religious feast day (Local 10 (opens in a new tab)). Chickens are the animals most often used. There have been claims of dogs and cats too: in 2012, an animal investigator told NBC 6 (opens in a new tab) that a site in northwest Miami-Dade held the remains of goats, sheep, dogs and cats. That's one group's account, not an official finding, but it shows it can't be ruled out.

Blanket bans can hurt the animals they're meant to protect. Black cats and dogs already wait longer for homes. The Kentucky Humane Society (opens in a new tab) says black cats often take two to three times longer to be adopted. Closing adoptions for a month means fewer of them go home, and veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker (opens in a new tab) calls the satanic fears hearsay that ends up hurting these animals.

So what's the real risk? The bigger danger isn't a color or a date. It's any animal handed over fast, for free, to someone nobody checked. That's exactly the gap that people who want to hurt, breed, sell or "use" animals look for, all year round. October simply brings extra attention, and a small number of people may look for animals of a specific color around these dates. The answer isn't panic. It's screening.

If You're Rehoming, Selling or Adopting Out an Animal This Season

These steps matter all year, but take them extra seriously from October through the first days of November, and especially with black or all-white animals.

• Never "free to a good home." Always ask for a fee. Free animals attract the wrong people. Read our guide, Rehoming a Dog Safely: Why "Free to a Good Home" Is Dangerous.
• Spay or neuter and microchip first. A microchipped animal registered to you can be traced. Spanish groups say chipped animals are less at risk (Todo Alicante (opens in a new tab)).
• Talk, don't just fill out a form. HumanePro recommends a real conversation over a checklist. Ask about their home, their past pets and their vet. The Kentucky Humane Society spends about an hour with each adopter.
• Check ID, the address and a vet reference. Call the vet. Look at their social media.
• Do a home visit, and deliver the animal yourself if you can. Never hand off in a parking lot.
• Sign a simple contract that says the animal comes back to you if it doesn't work out.
• Take your time. If anything feels off, wait. As ANDA advised, it's fine to hold off until the holidays are over.

Red flags to watch for:

• They ask for a specific color, especially all black or all white, and don't care about the animal's personality.
• They need the animal by a specific date, like Oct. 31 or Nov. 1 or 2.
• They want more than one, or ask if you have others of the same color.
• They're in a hurry, won't share an address, or want to pick up at night or somewhere public.
• They push back on any fee, contract or home visit.

At home: keep cats indoors and dogs on a leash or inside around Halloween and the Day of the Dead. Fireworks, costumes and open doors cause far more lost pets than anything else this time of year.

If You See Something

If you find signs of animal cruelty, or a person seems to be collecting animals for harm, report it. In Miami-Dade, call 311 or Miami-Dade Animal Services, and call the police for anything in progress. Our guide on reporting animal cruelty explains who to call and what to write down.

In Florida, cruelty to animals can be a misdemeanor with fines of up to $5,000, and aggravated cruelty is a third-degree felony with fines of up to $10,000 (Florida Statutes §828.12 (opens in a new tab)).

The Bottom Line

The fear is real and old, and the cases people point to deserve to be taken seriously. But the evidence doesn't show that black or white pets are taken in large numbers every October. What is proven is that rushed, unscreened, free handoffs put animals in danger every month of the year. Screen carefully, charge a fee, chip and fix, and trust your gut. That protects a black cat in October just as well as a golden puppy in April.