If you’ve been thinking of adding a feline friend to your family, there’s never been a better time.
The Vernon & District Animal Care Society will hold its Back in the Black cat adoption event July 27 and there will be a number of cats and kittens, all looking for their forever families.
“We took in around 20 or so cats from a lady who meant well and was trying to give them a good home, but got in over her head,” said Laurie Johnson, adoption coordinator with the VDACS. “She called us and asked for some help.”
Most of the cats are black and white, and there will also be two 11-year-old white cats, a brother and sister who are both deaf. Johnson said the theme of the adoption event was chosen because black cats have traditionally been more difficult to place.
“There is an old superstition about black cats being bad luck, that dates back to the Middle Ages,” she said.
According to Wikipedia, black cats were associated with witches, and were killed en masse in the middle of the 14th century during the Black Death. Had this bias toward cats not existed, local rodent populations could have been kept down, lessening the spread of plague-infected fleas from host to host.
The society’s mission is to provide spay and neuter assistance to low-income families to help reduce the problem of pet overpopulation. The VDACS does not operate a shelter, but when space permits, will rehome stray/abandoned cats, have them spayed/neutered, vet checked, dewormed, and vaccinated.
In June, the VDACS was able to provide assistance to spay 17 female cats and four female dogs and to neuter five male cats and three male dogs. As well, 38 feral cats were trapped, neutered and returned to the wild.
“It was actually a slower month for us than usual.”
The society can’t do the work it does without help from the public. It receives no government funding, but relies on donations, fundraisers and the sale of memberships — $25 per person annually or $100 for a business membership. And Paws & Claws provides a 10 per cent discount to those who show their membership card at the store.
Back in the Black takes place July 27 from noon to 4 p.m. at Paws & Claws, 5601 Anderson Way. The cats will be on site so those looking to adopt one of the animals can come and meet them and fill out an application for a new family member.
“We need quieter homes for these cats,” said Johnson. “Once the paper work is completed and approved, then we will deliver the cat to do a quick home check.”
For Johnson, cats are her passion, ever since she was a child growing up in Vernon.
“We always had cats — we had a dog, too, but that was a family dog, whereas the cat was mine.”
But Johnson, who would adopt every homeless cat if she could, calls herself a “foster failure.”
“I will foster kittens but not adult cats right now as I just get too attached to them and they are always the hardest to adopt out, but an older cat is a great addition to a home.
“They are more likely to climb into your lap than climb your curtains — and they make good napping buddies.”
During the adoption event, the society will have a one-time special adoption fee of $75. The fee includes spaying or neutering, vaccinations and a veterinary check-up. Fee for kittens is $100 and will include a certificate for a spay or neuter and a tattoo.
For more information about the Vernon & District Animal Care Society, see www.vernonanimalcare.com or find them on Facebook.
