Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

Undoubtedly more than one person you know has adopted a cat from the local shelter known as Forgotten Felines.

Operating in Westbrook, this rescue and placement organization has provided loving care for their little four-legged friends for many years. They will rescue cats from a ten-town area reaching from Guilford to Chester.

Incorporated and organized as a non-profit in 2000, Forgotten Felines is home to approximately 140 cats and kittens. The cats live and play in cozy, bright, airy rooms (two with outdoor patios) that have plenty of beds and napping spots available 24/7.

More than 100 volunteers provide all the labors of love to find the purrfect home for these neglected souls.

The mission of the shelter, as stated on their website, is “to stop the proliferation of homeless cats living hard lives and struggling to find food and shelter on the streets of our local communities.”

It is a no-kill shelter that is funded by private donations and local fundraising events.

On schedule this week is their first fundraiser held Friday, March 18, 6:00pm - 10:00pm, at Woodwinds in Branford.

This event was coordinated by volunteer Michelle Raiti whose exuberance and clear passion shines brightly.

Other fundraisers include a very popular Tag Sale. This year's event is June 11 at Clinton Town Hall's Green Room.

Help is certainly needed for the shelter. Monetary donations are ideal and provide for canned Friskies food, cleaning supplies, litter, a mortgage, as well as veterinary services and medicines as required.

Past President, and current Adoption Coordinator Carol Andrecs says “this year we have had an unprecedented number of abandoned cats. I am seeing a greater number of unspayed cats, owners are permitting reproduction. We believe it to be yet another repercussion of economic hard times.”

Andrecs adds that the greatest impact to encourage folks to spay and neuter their animals is from education in the schools K-12.

All Forgotten Feline cats are spayed and neutered before they leave the shelter.

The interview process they have in place is designed to match the right cat with the right home. Kittens are usually ideal for families with children. Some cats are good with other pets, some are not. Forgotten Felines prides itself in these matches.

When you leave with your new forever friend, you receive his or her medical records, a Guide for Lifelong Health, and a bag of Hill's Science Diet kibble.

On March 13, Christina Garcia and her mother Kelly visited and adopted two cats. They walked out smiling and anticipating the love these beautiful animals will share with their family.

"Two," they said, so they can keep each other company. They came to Forgotten Felines after Christina learned about them through a fundraiser at Baldwin Middle School in Guilford.

Volunteers like Andrecs have a clear passion for finding homes for these furry creatures, but more so, she says “being around them is very therapeutic."

They are always looking for volunteers, and it is great for young people ages sixteen and up. They get a balance of food preparation, cleaning and petting and playing with the cats.

Other forms of donation include a local woman who hired a contractor to build and paint a tremendous cat playscape at the shelter. Another option to help is to become a foster home such as volunteer Michelle Raiti and her daughter Addie who over the past two and a half years have fostered more than fifty kittens for anywhere from one week to three months.

Their “Wish List” other than homes, includes: donations of scoopable litter, Friskies canned food, postage stamps, gas cards, Revolution brand for fleas, ticks and ear mites. But really they need volunteers for permanent homes, foster homes, fundraising efforts, public relations, shelter volunteers, and yard maintenance workers.

In the foyer is a card that reads “O Lord please bless all cats who have no home..."

Inside the rooms, tucked into cute little beds curl cats of varying ages, colors and sizes. Their eyes warm for love.

Consider as the Garcia's did, that saving one of these beautiful animals was the right thing to do.

For more information on adoption or volunteer opportunities contact Forgotten Felines at 860-669-1347.