From the Oscars to animal shelters, Flow didn’t just win an award — it opened hearts, changed minds, and gave thousands of once-feared animals a second chance.

When Flow, the silent but hauntingly beautiful Latvian animated film featuring a single black cat struggling to survive a devastating flood,

took home the 2025 Oscar for Best Animated Feature, something unexpected happened: shelters across America and Europe began reporting dramatic changes in adopter behavior toward black cats.

What had long been a tale of superstition, stigma, and slow turnover suddenly turned into an unexpected rescue revolution.

Shelters in the U.K., including Blue Cross, reported that after Flow’s release, black cats’ rehoming numbers jumped by 53% compared to previous months. “Suddenly black cats — the ones people used to avoid — were the first to go,” said a rescuer in a British shelter.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., while national shelter statistics showed that total cat adoptions rose modestly, some local shelters said their black‑cat adoptions more than doubled in the weeks following Flow’s Oscar win.

To put that in perspective, U.S. shelters overall saw approximately 2.9 million cats enter rescues and shelters in 2024, with about 64% of those cats adopted.

Adult and senior cats typically were adopted at lower rates, and black cats were among those known to wait the longest for homes. In many shelters historically, only 10‑15% of shelter cats were black, yet they often made up a lower share of adoptions.

After Flow, shelters in Texas and parts of the Midwest began to report that black cats were now constituting about 25‑30% of their daily adoptions — previously, they might have only seen 10‑15%.

One Texas cinema rescue event made headlines: show Flow, then allow on-site adoptions of black cats. Organizers expected maybe 50 adoptions.

Instead, nearly 200 black cats found homes that night. It was a striking contrast to earlier months, when many such cats lingered in shelters for weeks or even months.

According to a ZIPDO Education Report in 2025, promotional and awareness campaigns (like pairing film screenings with adoptions) can increase black cat adoptions by roughly 25%.

Experts caution that while these surges are meaningful, black cats still face structural bias.

Prior to the Flow‑inspired wave, data from shelters showed black cats had significantly lower adoption rates; some reports noted black cats were adopted at only 20‑25% of the rate of lighter‑colored or tabby cats in many shelters.

Also, shelters pointed out that black cats typically spent 30% longer in shelters before adoption, and were more likely to be returned after adoption due to misunderstandings or unmet expectations.

But Flow seems to have shifted perception. After the Oscar, social media exploded under tags like #FlowEffect and #BlackCatPride.

Users posted images of their newly adopted black cats with captions like “I thought she’d be unlucky, but she’s my luckiest friend” and “After Flow, I saw her as resilient instead of scary.”

Several shelters reported that these stories directly encouraged people who had never considered a black cat to visit a rescue and adopt one.

Other animals suffering from stigma have similar statistical barriers.

Black dogs, for example, have long been passed over in shelters at higher rates; reports show that shelters with targeted marketing for black dogs saw adoption rate increases of around 20‑25% when those dogs were featured in special campaigns.

In some cases, black dogs constituted roughly 35% of dogs in shelters but had adoption rates significantly lower — again, due to mythology, appearance biases, or just poor visibility in adoption listings.

In discussions among shelter workers, adopters, and animal welfare groups, the Flow phenomenon has been described as “a tipping point.” One shelter director in California said, “We’ve run awareness campaigns before that helped a little.

Flow did more in a few days than many campaigns have in years.” Another director in New York noted that after shelters read news about Flow’s Oscar win and its adoption impact, people started showing up asking, “Do you have any black cats? I saw this film…”

Even as the numbers rise, the worries persist. Some shelters reported that the spike in black cat adoptions led to increased vetting, but also to occasional returns. As one shelter put it, “Yes, more are going home — but the journey doesn’t end at ‘taken from the shelter.’

We want them to thrive.” Animal behaviorists warn that moving beyond superstitions will require sustained education, clear information about care, and helping adopters understand things like indoor care, veterinary needs, and behavior.

The broader effect of Flow has been inspiring conversations about other “forgotten” or stigmatized creatures — black dogs, senior cats, pit bulls, animals from certain breeds often misjudged.

Whenever media portrays them with dignity, vulnerability, and power, it chips away at long‑held biases. Many charities are now exploring films, books, and creative storytelling as tools to reshape public perception, noting that changes in emotion often lead to behavior.

In embracing black cats in greater numbers, many adopters say their homes feel fuller in a different way. One adopter in Austin shared, “I didn’t just adopt a cat. I adopted a story, a message. Flow made me believe even little creatures who are usually unseen deserve compassion.”

Whether this change will be permanent is yet to be seen. But for now, what started as a stunning artistic achievement has rippled into real lives. Black cats once seen as harbingers of bad luck are being held, cuddled, photographed, celebrated.

The shelters, once full of reluctant whispers, are ringing with meows and paws scurrying into new homes.

Art did more than entertain. Flow reminded us that sometimes, the quietest voices — the silent paws, the overlooked shadows — carry the loudest messages. And for many black cats, this year, that voice became “home.”