Black cats are amazing.

Throughout my life, I’ve lived with two wonderful (and totally dorky) black cats who were just as awesome as their white, and white and orange brothers. So, why don’t more people adopt black cats?

Well, the answer is 1/2 sad and 1/2 stupid: some people are superstitious about black cats, and dogs, too. (We should also note, though, that black is a dominant genetic trait in cats. So, there may just be more black cats in general. Still — black cat superstitions are dumb.)

Thankfully, there are people who are dedicated to helping black pets find amazing homes. Once such person is Casey Christopher, a Los Angeles video editor and photographer. Christopher also thought it was bonkers that fewer black cats get adopted. So, she decided to make many of LA’s little black balls of fluff look absolutely irresistible.

While Christopher had already been volunteering her creative talents at the West Los Angeles animal shelter (she takes photos of the shelter’s pets), she recently started featuring the shelter’s black cats. She told Today.com that as of October 20, “there were 36 cats available for adoption at the West L.A Animal Shelter and 10 of them were black.” She also added that “at the West Valley branch, of 71 adoptable cats, 35 were black.”

Christopher thinks that with some TLC, skillfully taken photographs of black shelter cats can help make them look just as fluffy and cute as other more “photogenic” cats.

“Petfinder reports that the reluctance to adopt black pets is known as ‘Black Dog Syndrome,’ which can often be caused by the animals’ ‘size, unclear facial features, dimly lit kennels, the ‘genericness’ of black pets,’ as well as negative stereotypes associated with witches, superstition, and bad luck,” Ecorazzi reports.

To help black cats’ facial features shine, Christopher lightens the black cats’ faces during editing, and uses an external flash.

As a black cat owner, I can attest to just how tricky it is to photograph these dark bundles of fur. If there’s no sunbeam in sight, good luck capturing your kit-kat’s cute face.

There’s no word yet if Christopher’s photography is helping black cats get adopted.

If you’re considering adding a cuddly kitty to your family, consider adopting a black cat this weekend. It’s the perfect Halloween present to give yourself.

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Image of a black cat from Shutterstock

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