From California with love

50 KITTENS HEAD TO NEW HOMES IN OREGON

You can’t help but be excited about an event called Kitten Palooza. After all, it’s just what you’d expect — lots of adorable kittens available for adoption. The annual event, held in June, is offered by Cat Adoption Team (CAT), a Best Friends Network partner located in Sherwood, Oregon.

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This year, the only glitch was that CAT didn’t have enough kittens for the number of expected adopters. (What a beautiful problem to have.) CAT has been taking cats and kittens from the Sanctuary for a while. It’s a successful partnership that gets kitties into good new homes quickly.

Since the Sanctuary didn’t have many kittens at the time either, we tapped into the Best Friends community cat program at Stanislaus Animal Services Agency in California. Cats and kittens are at high risk of being killed in California shelters, and the opportunity to get 50 out and into new homes was just too important to pass up. So, the team in California loaded up the precious cargo, and they were soon on their way to the Sanctuary, where the kittens went into local foster homes for a stopover. The veterinary team at the Sanctuary did their part with “surgery palooza,” spaying or neutering the kittens who hadn’t already had it done.

Then, a few days later, the kittens embarked on their second road trip, arriving just in time for Kitten Palooza. The event was mostly virtual (hey, that’s how it is for the time being) and with successful matches made online, followed by a drive-through “pick-up parade,” all the kittens completed the final leg of their journey: going home.

Cats and kittens are at high risk of being killed in California shelters, and the opportunity to get 50 out and into new homes was just too important to pass up.

BEST FRIENDS MAGAZINE September/October 2020