An animal adoption event in Aurora this weekend will have about 40 cats in attendance for potential pet parents to meet and possibly go home with.
The event on Sunday, Sept. 25 is by Michelle's Kitten Rescue, a Greater Toronto-based animal rescue that has been fostering and finding forever homes for cats since 2017. It was founded by Michelle Leigh and is volunteer run.
One of those volunteers is Newmarket resident Alexis Gada, who has taken on the role of organizing events like the upcoming adoption one for the rescue.
"It's a foster-based rescue, so we don't have a bricks and mortar place," Gada said.
The cats stay in foster homes around the area until they are old enough to be fixed or while they are waiting to be placed with a permanent family.
"Presently we have over 100 cats and kittens in rescue with fosters right now. So we have a lot, it was super busy year, there were just kittens everywhere," Gada said.
She said 40 of those cats will be at the event on Sunday, in two different shifts. The first group will be there from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the second from 2 to 4 p.m. All of them are adoptable.
Leigh and some other volunteers will be on hand to take adoption applications on the spot, conduct reference checks on adopters, and if everything goes smoothly, some folks could be heading home from the event with a new pet in tow.
For anyone who is ready to take that leap and adopt, Gada said "the most important thing is making sure that the references that you provide are available."
If the team is able to reach your references and confirm you are a good match, you can then head out and get together the supplies you need like a cat carrier, and come back and take home your new furry friend.
While there will be 40 cats for adopters to meet, Gada said it's possible that someone might not make a connection with one of them but still be in search of a new pet. That's where she said Leigh's knowledge of all the cats in her rescue's care comes in.
"Michelle, she's amazing. She knows every cat inside her head," she said. "If there is somebody that a cat that she feels 'hey, might be a good match', then she might make a suggestion, she might share photos and a bio with them to consider."
The event on Sunday offers more than just animal adoptions though. It's also a vendor market, featuring pet-related vendors, a tea vendor, a baker, and a Pet Valu franchisee that will have a booth.
It will also serve as a donation drop-off location for cat food and litter, which helps the foster volunteers at Michelle's Kitten Rescue.
The adoption event takes place at Northridge Community Church of The Salvation Army Central York, on Leslie Street in Aurora from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25.
