AN ANIMAL shelter is urging people to let go of superstitions and help change the luck of homeless black cats and kittens this Halloween.

The Blue Cross centre in Thirsk is currently caring for 16 black cats and staff fear they are being overlooked because of a superstition of them being witches’ cats.

Emma Pannell, Blue Cross centre manager at Thirsk said: “We don’t know why some people don’t want to take on a black cat, perhaps they are superstitious about it and think they are unlucky.

“We’re urging people who are thinking of rehoming a cat to take a closer look at the black cats we are caring for, they really are just as affectionate and loving as other pets.“ Staff are encouraging animal lovers to visit the black cats in their care, including Salem.

Salem is just four-months-old and is hoping for luck this Halloween after a terrible start to life when he was found with his mum and two siblings in a hotel car park in Grimsby.

They had been abandoned and were very thin so were taken for treatment before being transferred to Thirsk to search for a new home.

If you could offer a home to one of the many black cats at Blue Cross, visit www.bluecross.org.uk to find out more.