Rachel McKenna came all the way from Keswick to adopt her new friend on Sunday.
Noodles, a five-year-old cat, is now part of the McKenna family.
“She’s just a beautiful cat — she’s so pretty and deserves a good home,” said the Grade 11 student.
“She’s been looking for one since our last cat died,” said her mom Julie, nodding at Rachel.
Bursting at the seams with cats and kittens, Furry Friends Animal Shelter partnered with PetSmart Charities of Canada to host a national adoption weekend at the Mapleview Drive East PetSmart in Barrie.
By about 1 p.m., Sunday, 43 of the 45 cats up for adoption had found new homes.
“We would call that a good weekend,” said Sherri Helsdinger, a volunteer at Furry Friends. “We had cats, kittens, some with special needs, bonded pairs, siblings, a mom and son.
“We’ve had old cats, black cats. There are a great many besides the cute kittens. People came from as far away as Scarborough and Oakville," she added.
As her mother mentioned, Rachel McKenna is familiar with cats. The family had two before Noodles and they lived to the age or 21 or 22, said Rachel, who expects Noodles to fit right in.
“She’s a part of the family,” she said, noting she will “love it and just play with it.”
But Noodles isn’t the McKenna family’s only pet. There’s also Lady, the 10-year-old lab retriever rescue.
“We’ve had cats before and she (Lady) loves to play with them. She’s very gentle. We have bunnies in our backyard,” said Julie. “But she will be curious (about Noodles).”
Helsdinger said Noodles had been quite ill when she came to the shelter, dehydrated and needed to be force-fed.
Now she’s eating two bowls of food a day.
“It was really heart-warming for us,” said Helsdinger.
Adoption fees range from $220 to $260 at Furry Friends Animal Shelter. All cats and kittens are spayed/neutered, vaccinated and treated against parasites. Most are also microchipped. All adopters receive a PetSmart coupon book valued at $300 and a complimentary bag of Hills Science Diet cat food.
Furry Friends Animal Shelter is a non-profit, no-kill organization dedicated to providing shelter and love to abandoned, lost or rescued animals in the Barrie community. Furry Friends does not euthanize healthy animals for any reason. It is a registered charity funded by generous donors and supporters, and operated completely by dedicated volunteers.
For more information go to furryfriendsbarrie.com.
