Friday the 13th Film Flub:The Today Show helping to perpetuate the myth that black cats are bad luck?

Hi Guys and Happy Friday The 13th!

I wasn't going to blog at all today, because I am not feeling well, (bladder infection I think), but I have been unable to shake what I can't believe  I saw on The Today Show this morning.

First, allow me to say I LOVE The Today Show, (or did, until today). I watch it every morning and have beed a loyal viewer for well over twenty years.

This morning they featured an animal wildlife expert, Corbin Maxey, on their "Call of the Wild" segment who was sharing  with hosts Willie Geist and Tamron Hall  animals for Friday The 13th which supposedly bring either "good" or "bad" luck.

The part that upset me is near the end of the video when a black cat was brought out (the last animal to be brought out). Maxey  did mention that it is a "myth" that the ravens who were featured just BEFORE the black cat was brought out were bad luck, but when discussing the black cat and mentioning that it is supposedly bad luck when they cross your path,  he never stressed the fact that people should NOT believe the myth, and that the myth needs to end for the SAFETY of black cats everywhere.

To make matters worse, Tamron Hall visibly flinches when the cat is brought out, and mentions her "fear of cats", until she discovered that it was a domestic house cat.

Am I being overly sensitive to the plight of black cats?

Watch the video yourself and tell me:

1) Does it bother you the way it bothered me?
2) Or....do you think they merely ran out of time and never got around to saying that black cats are just as lovable as cats of EVERY color and do NOT bring bad luck.

I am disappointed and surprised that The Today Show would help to perpetuate that myth, especially as involved as they are with animal rescue segments.

Wish they would make sure to mention on a later show that black cats are indeed NOT unlucky. Statistics show that black cats are less likely to be adopted and are often abused. Hope the Today Show does a special segment about black cats on Black Cat Appreciation Day.

If the video is not displaying on the blog, click here to watch

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

;

Out-of-the-Box Thinking on Outdoor Cats A Guest Blog By: Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States

Cat advocates, wildlife conservationists, legislators, and public health representatives have long struggled with the issue of managing outdoor cats. And it’s no small matter, since there could be as many as 40 million community (feral and stray) cats now living in the United States, of which just two percent are sterilized and vaccinated.

As perhaps the only group in the debate with dozens of staff devoted to protecting companion animals and also to protecting wildlife, The HSUS believes in humane control where cats are trapped humanely, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and then returned (TNR) to the communities in which they were found. For decades, we’ve been encouraging people to keep their cats safe indoors. We work with local and state lawmakers across the country to implement policies supporting TNR, and just last year, we helped more than 46 localities pass policies to eliminate barriers for community cat programs, including North Chicago, Ill., Pinellas County, Fla., Aiken, S.C., Pima County, Ariz., and Fort Wayne, Ind.

Photo Courtesy of the HSUS

In Rockville, Md., near our headquarters, local lawmakers are now considering changes to their animal care ordinance, to make clear that TNR programs are allowed and encouraged. Several state legislatures, including Arizona, Montana, New York, and Virginia, are also currently considering bills that would clarify the legality of community cat management practices. Now, The HSUS has put together a practical guide, Managing Community Cats; A Guide for Municipal Leaders, to help lawmakers with all of the information they need to implement effective cat policy, and to provide cat advocates with a tool they can use to approach policy makers.

As the guide reminds us, cats are already present in most communities, in droves, and reproducing more each day. The question now is between having unmanaged populations of cats, or managed ones. Lethal management is no longer an option being discussed because it’s an approach that has been tried for decades and has failed. Animal service agencies and organizations do not have the resources necessary, or the philosophical bent, to effectively remove tens of millions of cats.

We also know that most people care about cats and want to see them treated humanely. Polls show that the majority of citizens support non-lethal programs for cat population control, and a significant portion of the public, approximately 10 to 12 percent, already feed community cats and can be motivated to help support non-lethal programs. These caretakers constitute a large and indispensable volunteer labor force working to reduce the numbers of cats outdoors, and they would never participate in a round-up-and-kill approach.

At The HSUS we advocate for all animals and we share the deep concern for the impact of outdoor cats on wildlife. But it is important to remember that neither cats nor wild animals are well served by a polarized, divisive, and expensive “cats vs. wildlife” controversy. Instead of further division, we advocate for collaboration and discussion on our shared common goal of fewer unowned, outdoor cats. Innovative programs are popping up across the country, like the Catio Tour in Portland, Ore., a joint program of the Portland Audubon Society, and the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon. Increased spaying and neutering and heightened public awareness of the need to keep owned cats indoors are also making a great difference.

Finally, we focus on best practices and new research to make the practice of TNR as effective as possible. By connecting organizations, sharing information, networking and providing access to thought leaders in the field through our Rethinking the Cat Symposia series and other trainings, we’re helping to improve these practices on the ground and in neighborhoods across the country.

For everyone concerned about cats, as well as the animal care and control agencies, shelters, rescues, and TNR organizations that have a major stake in effective cat policy, we encourage you to get involved and speak up for non-lethal and effective programs. Get our Managing Community Cats; A Guide for Municipal Leaders, and use it to motivate change in your community and help reduce the number of unowned, outdoor cats.

Michigan Cat Fanciers Association All Breed & Household Pet Show!!! CFA

Founded in 1906, CFA is the world's largest registry of pedigreed cats and is devoted to the welfare of all felines.