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Pet Valu Bradford hosts kitten Adopt-a-Thon (4 photos)

Bradford's Pet Valu hosts Adopt-a-Thons twice a month, featuring kittens from Georgina Feral Cat Committee

This past Saturday, Pet Valu in Bradford held one of its kitten adoption events, featuring three eight week old cuties from The Georgina Feral Cat Committee. 

Twice a month, Pet Valu hosts the adoption event in hopes of the kittens finding their fur-ever homes. 

Husband and wife, Dennis and Benedita Wilkerson are one of two Bradford families who foster kittens from the committee. 

There are four kittens part of the litter the Wilkersons are currently fostering, but only three made an appearance at the Adopt-a-Thon event. Maxine the dark coloured tortise shell, Digit the black and white tuxedo and Wiley the ginger were the three kittens, all from the same litter, brought to the store. The fourth kittne at home is also a tuxedo cat like Digit, but was a little too frisky to come out of the house. 

"It's fun watching them interact," said Dennis of the kittens. 

"Wiley was the hissiest of the four but now he's just a cuddler," shared Benedita.

The couple has been fostering cats with the Georgina Feral Cat Committee for the past five years.They love cats and even have four of their own. 

Feral cats can sometimes scare off potential adoptees, but feral cats, especially kittens can be just as loveable as their non-feral counterparts. 

"They are still sweet animals. They have a gentle nature to them once you give them time to accomodate to their new environment," explained Benedita.

Majority of the cats the committee rescues are kittens, usually found in colonies inside barns. The earlier they are saved, the better chance they have at warming up and being more socialized. 

Benedita noted that adult feral cats are more "skiddish" in nature, and may never come around to being a "lap cat" but can adjust well and live happily in a loving, patient home. 

Over the years, the couple has fostered over 68 cats. They enioy spending time with them and preparing them for their forever homes. 

"We see the development of the personalities," said Benedita.

In her spare time, Benedita knits homemade blankets for each kitten. The blankets go home with each kitten when they get adopted. 

"It's kind of like a kid's reassurance blanket," she noted, with a familiar scent to help them adjust to their new surroundings. 

In order to adopt one of the furry friends, an application must be filled out with a questionaire. 

"People need to understand that this is a forever pet," said Benedita.

The committee practices the Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) approach to controlling the feral cat population. 

Volunteers will work together to trap the cats, have them spayed/neutered and vaccinated, then returned to their colony where they are taken care of by a conoly caretaker. The cats ears are also tipped to help identify them as spayed/neutered. 

The kittens found in the colonies are rescued, brought into foster homes, socialized and eventually adopted out to families looking for a forever pet.

So far, in 2019, 125 cats and kittens have been adopted out to forever homes. Two hundred cats have been spayed or neutered and 80 cats have been rehomed. Supporters like Bradford's Pet Valu have donated hundreds of pounds of food and litter for the cats and kittens in foster care. 

The cost to adopt a kitten is $225, and includes a vet check, microchippng and a voucher for a spay/neutering at six months old. 

To learn more about the Georgina Feral Cat Committee and how to adopt, check out their website here.


Natasha Philpott

About the Author: Natasha Philpott

Natasha is the Editor for BradfordToday and InnisfilToday. She graduated from the Media Studies program at The University of Guelph-Humber. She lives in Bradford with her husband, two boys and two cats.
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