Furry Friends Up for Adoption Through Montgomery County SPCA

On the third and fourth Sundays of every month, employees of the Montgomery County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MCSPCA) can be found at Germantown's , seeking families to provide homes for cats and kittens.  

At any given event, there are between seven and 10 cats available for adoption, all of which have been spayed or neutered, and are ready to be a furry companion for the right family. 

"Our goal is to make sure each and every cat or kitten is placed into a caring home," said Angie Pribble of MCSPCA. "We want to make sure it's a good fit for the family adopting the cat and for the family offering the cat for adoption."

In order for a family to adopt a cat, they must fill out an application and all members of a household must be present for the adoption process. The $100 fee ($150 for kittens under 1-year-old) includes the cost of any vaccinations. 

What makes this adoption process a little different from similar programs, according to Pribble, is that each cat up for adoption comes straight from a foster home, where cats and kittens live temporarily with a volunteer "foster parent." They are taken care of, nourished, and are thus "more adoptable" by living with a foster parent.  

According to MCSPCA, many cats enter a foster home needing "special attention. They may need socialization, medical care, or just some extra TLC."

Whatever the need, the foster families provide it until a permanent home is identified.

Lisa Sheehy has been fostering cats for MCSPCA for years. Last summer, she had as many as seven that she was taking care of temporarily. She admitted that seven was a bit much and that two at a time is more ideal, but she finds the entire process rewarding.

Often times, Sheehy has found abandoned cats in parking lots behind her condo building or near her office. She has taken them in, ensured they got the appropriate medical care they needed, and then provided a temporary home for the cats until a permanent home has been found through the adoption process. Sheehy says the foster families have ultimate say on who ends up adopting the cats. 

Kim Raide is another foster parent. Raide, who works in a veterinarian office,  said that although it is hard to see the kittens go after spending months with them, she knows that the cats will be taken care of by a loving family. 

"Every time I let one go, it opens the door for me to take another one in," Raide said. "There's nothing more rewarding than that."