To broaden our reach of potential adopters and shorten the commute for our foster homes in the north, we held our adoption event on Saturday, 10/6, at the Pet Supplies Plus in Villa Park. It is a large store with a good amount of foot traffic, particularly customers bringing their dogs to the doggy wash. We had a good sized space along the front windows and arranged our crates in a U configuration, which worked well. Thanks to Pet Supplies Plus for hosting our event!

23 kittens (Alejandro, Alonzo, Baxter, Breezy, Bruce, Carlton, Rickshaw, Richard, Ricky, Rico Suave, Duke, Yori, Neroli, Twister, Garbo, Gilbert, Cassidy, Casino, Circuit, Ampere, Joanie, Johanna, Jolli)) and 1 young adult cat (Topaz) were the stars of our show. Everyone did very well and engaged with our guests, particularly during the first half of the event. By the afternoon, it became nap time. Several guests had their dogs with them and interactions generally went well.

We were visited by 2 pre-approved adopters and a number of other customers, a few of whom were considering adding a new kitty family member. One of the pre-approved adopters was still mourning the passing of their prior cat and was not ready to proceed. The other pre-approved family was looking for a kitten to bond with their son and also minimally disturb their resident 4 yr old female cat. Carlton and Rico Suave were their top choices. Upon completion of a vet visit for their resident cat, they will be going to the foster home to meet these 2 kittens and make a final decision later this week.

Alejandro caught the eye of a grad student living in Villa Park, who came in to buy some food for her 1.5 yr old female cat. She recently lost an older special needs cat, and is considering adding a playmate for her current cat. Follow-up is underway.

Business cards were distributed to a number of other potential adopters, and we are hoping for some follow-up contact.

While adoptions have slowed down in the past couple of weeks, Duckie & Falcon (together) and Mexico were adopted since our last adoption event. Taj also went home with one of our former adopters as a Foster-to-Adopt. He will have Buzz, a little girl kitten from 2017, as a companion.

We also have a successful rehoming story to celebrate. The family of Noodle and Peanut, adopted as kittens in 2016, needs to leave the country to care for an aging parent in their home country. They contacted us to sadly surrender their cats. At about the same time, one of our former fosters, Diane C, referred her friend, who was looking for a pair of bonded young adult cats, to contact Feral Fixers. She did, was approved for adoption, and agreed to meet Noodle and Peanut. The girls were a match and are now getting settled into their new home - yeah!

We are thankful for your referrals and our network of volunteers to help our kitties find good homes!

Many thanks to the volunteers and fosters who participated in this event (Steve, Bonnie, Sara, Lauren, Laurel, Diane, Jennifer, Connie K, Sarah, Catherine, Rita). Set-up was completed in record time thanks to the help of Sara, Steve, Bonnie and Laurel. Steve and Bonnie were also able to stay to help the clean-up go smoothly and efficiently. Thanks to everyone for the camaraderie and welcoming interaction with our guests during the event. Everyone's positive spirit makes it an enjoyable event!

Special thanks for all of the other valuable contributions which made the event a success - to Steve for the great photography during the event; to Connie, Stephanie and Ted for promoting the event on our Facebook page and web site; to Bonnie & Steve for the excellent professional-looking cage cards; to Mike and Debbie for the on-going updates to the Adoptable Cats & Kittens binder and board; to Sara and Lauren for providing the Comfort for Critters blankets; to Sara for helping with adoption counseling; to Steve for coordinating our lunch run; to Sara for helping with the laundry. A special shout-out also to Lauren - we were very happy you could make it to the event!

We have one weekend off, and then 2 more adoption events scheduled in October:

11/10-11 is the final PetSmart National Adoption Weekend of the year, so we will be at the Wheaton PetSmart one day that weekend.

Details will follow.

Thanks,

Sue