It’s tough to be an adult cat during kitten season.
Families and individuals are kitten crazy during the summer months, which often gives adult cats the shaft, as adopters flock toward the cuddly, playful, younger, furry felines. As part of an effort to save as many lives as possible, Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority holds quarterly pay-what-you-want in adoption fee events, with its most recent happening on Aug. 9.
The shelter’s annual Hawaiian-themed Aloha Adoption adoptathon attempts to clear shelter space and give some of the organization’s overlooked and special case dogs and cats a little extra attention.
Of the approximately 40 felines up for adoption, 14 kittens and one adult cat found their forever homes last Saturday, but others are still anxiously awaiting a family. One of the shelter’s special cases is Roo, a two-year-old, three-legged, torbie, domestic shorthair mix. “We don’t have a lot of history on her,” said Shelter Manager Michael Limper, of the young cat who came to the shelter in May. “Basically, it looks like she was found and that person was feeding her for a little bit, but didn’t know what to do so they brought her to us.”
When Roo was brought to the shelter, her hind right limb was sticking straight up. With few options and an inability to correct the problem, the shelter amputated the leg. “We think it was an old injury,” said Limper, “that’s why we amputated. It happened and it was never treated so there was nothing that we could do to try and repair it. The best thing was to take it off. She recovered quick.”
Roo has become quite the favorite among shelter volunteers, as has her roommate, Ophelia, a sweet senior kitty who is still looking for love. Ophelia is a gray, domestic longhaired gal who enjoys getting affection from volunteers and lounging around while checking out the world around her.
Four of the 15 dogs available also found homes during the event. “We had a big rush right at the beginning and we’re getting a lot of guys out – a lot of dogs and a lot of kitties, too,” said Limper about an hour into the event.
SVACA is still recruiting kitten fosters and volunteers. “We have an amazing foster group and our foster parents are just great about helping us out and taking on bottle babies – even our staff as well,” said Limper. “They take on guys [kittens] for a couple of days and then the next person will take them on. We kind of work as a team, depending on what everyone can do, because not everyone can take bottle babies and feed them every couple of hours.” Visit www.svaca.com to see all of the shelter’s available animals.