These Kittens Need Permanent Homes

The Feline Rescue Association finds itself in a feline version of “101 Dalmatians.”

It has 60 kittens and about 40 adult cats looking for permanent families in the Baltimore area, according to founder and president Lizzie Ellis.

For now, they are being cuddled and played with at foster homes, but they each need a permanent home.

Unlike the dalmatians, they don’t match. Most are domestic short-hair, and range in colors from orange tabbies to velvet-black.

If your choice is a cute ball-of-fur kitten, be prepared. Kittens—like children—grow like weeds, FRA staffers warn, and need extra nourishment while they grow.

While many kitten- and cat-feeding guides are available on the Internet, the FRA staff suggests feeding a kitten a staple of dry kitten food along with kitten wet food at least two times a day.

Dry food alone will lead to chronic dehydration, which can cause a myriad of health problems.

Because the FRA uses foster homes to care for cats and kittens, rather than a shelter, there’s no one central location to visit when choosing a cat or kitten companion.

However, there are weekend adoption events featuring many of the adoptable kittens.

These are from noon-5 p.m. Saturdays at the Petco in Owings Mills and Sundays at the Petco in Glen Burnie.

If you can’t fit one of these adoption events into your schedule, visit the FRA website where you can complete an application and make an appointment to meet a prospective feline companion.  

FRA focuses on matching personalities of its cats and kittens to prospective homes, believing that making a connection based on temperament leads to a lasting forever home.

The adoption fee for a kitten under 6 months is $125. For a pair, the fee is reduced to $210 total.

For kittens and cats over 6 months old, the fee is only $90, or $150 for a pair. 

All cats and kittens at FRA are spayed or neutered, are microchipped, given age-appropriate vaccinations, dewormed, defleaed and have been tested for feline diseases.

The adoption fees help pay the cost of the medical services.