June is Adopt a Cat Month! With over 4,000,000 cats ending up in shelters every year this is the perfect time to adopt a wonderful new friend. Spring and summer is kitten season and so many of these wonderful, sweet kitties would like nothing more than to find a forever home. 

I use to be a "dog person", that is until I adopted my first cat. Max came to me in December of 1994. I was trying to think of a nice Christmas gift for my family. There was this little kitten, a "pet quality" Siamese kitten that was up for adoption. I called and found out that there was a person interested in the kitten but they wanted to make him a "barn cat". I was then told, "Come and get him and "rescue" him from this fate and he is yours, he needs an inside home with playful children".  So Max came into our lives, full of energy and yes, he loved playing with the children. He would keep the kids entertained for hours. He also slept with my daughter every night until she went away to college. The start of the children's college days was rather hard on little Max. Max cried for three nights straight when he couldn't find his "sleeping partner." 

 Max is the sweetest cat. He sits on the back of a chair and waits for my return when I'm away. Greets me at the door with a happy meow each day when I come home, sits and cuddles in my lap every chance he gets, comes when called, and even does the "begging trick" by sitting up on his hind legs. He has been my best friend for nearly 15 years! June 4^th is Hug Your Cat Day and Max will sure get his hugs. Hey, you have to own a cat to honor Hug Your Cat Day! Right? 

Cats make great companions! 

Cats are playful - if you have kids, the shelter can help you pick out a cat with the perfect personality for children.

Cats are already housebroken - I found this to be a wonderful trait. Cats and kittens will naturally use a litter box.

Cats are very affectionate and LOVE to cuddle

Cats are very clean and do not have an odor - they bathe themselves

Cats are independent enough that you can leave them at home and go to work with no worry. Cats are perfectly happy when you go on vacation. Just have someone drop in and check on them. This really saves on boarding expenses!

Cats are perfect for apartments, condos and small houses. They don't need a lot of space and they don't make noise to bother the neighbors. 

Adopt a cat or kitten this month from your local shelter and have a wonderful new friend and at the same time save a life. Here's a great website for pet adoptions.

Of course have your kitten or cat spayed or neutered. Your cat will be happier and healthier for it and you won't have to worry about finding homes for a litter of "unexpected" kittens. 

I will be doing a cat food drive for the animal shelter this month in honor of Adopt-A-Cat Month. If you are interested in donating cat food (yes, I will also take dog food) please give me a call and I will pick it up and deliver it to our local animal shelters.