Clarksville kitties get new homes in celebration of adopt a cat month
Puurrrfect Paws and three other local cat rescues teamed up to host Clarksville's 3rd Annual Kitten Shower in honor of national adopt a cat month this June.
The event, held over the weekend, offered more than 100 cats and kittens for adoption at Old Glory Distilling Company.
“The animal rescue community continues to play catch up from the last two years of COVID-19 shutdowns that affected shelters and spay-neuter clinics,” said Tiffany Weaver, a local rescuer. “There has been an explosion of births this kitten season. Puurrrfect Paws Rescue has brought at least 75 kittens and cats, that are all totally vetted, spayed or neutered, and ready for adoption.”
In addition to spay and neuter services, the vetting process also ensures that each kitten is up to date on all age-appropriate vaccines, and makes sure they have been de-wormed, tested for FIV/FeLV, and given flea preventative medication.
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Finders Keepers Cat Rescue and Ron and Wendy's Kitty Cat Adventures brought cats and kittens in need of permanent homes to the event, and several vendors were set up on-site, offering a variety of cat and cat-owner-related items. A collection area was set up to handle donations people could make to the various organizations.
Loralee Childers, president of Finders Keepers Cat Rescue, said her team brought 15 cats Sunday.
“We've already had an adoption, so we're starting strong,” Childers said. “We are, unfortunately, having to turn down about five requests a day to take in cats. We're a smaller rescue and almost always at capacity.
“Clarksville has an abundance of kittens right now because we don't have enough low-cost spay/neuter clinics to help solve that problem. Our rescue does what we can to make a difference and be a good-working partner with the other rescues in town.”
Finders Keepers adoption fees are $125, which includes spay/neuter, vaccines, and about a month's worth of supplies. Some of the senior cats have lower adoption fees.
“We are always operating at a loss, and, therefore, rely on donations from the community and our awesome social media supporters,” Childers said.
Judy McGrew, co-owner of Puurrrfect Paws Rescue, was busy coordinating a lot of Sunday's activity. The room filled up quickly with families looking for a new fur baby. The first kitten was adopted within just minutes of the doors being opened.
“Last year, we adopted out almost 1,000 cats and kittens at our facility,” McGrew said. “The year before, almost 1,200. We're already close to 450 this year. This is kitten season, so we try to do this event once a year."
She noted that the event usually does well.
"We should have more than 100 people stop by today that are interested in adopting, and more than 100 cats and kittens available, thanks to our fellow rescues that are here with us," McGrew said. "There were only a handful of kittens left over at last year's event. We hope to do even better this time.”
This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: Clarksville kitties get new homes in celebration of adopt a cat month
