It was a busy day on Saturday, 7/27, at our adoption event at the Wheaton PetSmart. We had a constant flow of potential adopters and visitors who stopped by to meet our kittens. The store was packed with lots of activity as ARF was also holding a dog adoption event during the first two hours of our event and there were dog training sessions next to our kittens. So noise and excitement filled the air.
We had 29 sweet and adorable kittens at the event (Suzuki, Subaru, Sudoku, Suzanna, Sully, Trillium,Tansy, Apricot, Sealy, Seltzer, Seagram, Alameda, Alyssa, Sandy, Salty, Monroe, Montana, Sammy, Sawyer, Clover, Columbine, Daisy, Osage "Ossie", Violet, Bahama, Gatsby, Galena, Gallagher, Gabrielle). Despite all of the commotion and dogs barking, everyone did very well, greeting and interacting with our guests. We truly have a very social and friendly group of kittens available - many thanks to the excellent foster care!
2 adoptions occurred during the event to pre-approved adopters:
- Bahama was adopted by wonderful former Feral Fixers foster who now lives in Chicago. She previously adopted a kitten from us in 2017, so Bahama will have a playmate.
- Violet was adopted by a nice family from Addison. She will be a special companion for their 15 yr old daughter. Violet will also have a resident 1.5 yr old female cat as a playmate.
We also conducted meet n' greets with several other potential adopters in the back rooms of the store. This resulted in 5 applications being submitted of which one has already yielded the adoption of a pair of kittens and another adoption is scheduled for Friday. Discussions are underway with the other applicants.
- Suzuki & Sudoku were adopted by ma great gal and her family in Elmhurst. Her prior cats had passed a few years ago. So the kittens are likely to bring lots of joy and excitement to her home.
- Apricot won the heart of a nice family fro Glendale Heights. She will be their first cat, long awaited by the the 2 young sons in the family. The boys were enjoying playing with the cats in friends' and family members' homes, so everyone decided it was time to get a kitten of their own. The meeting and likely adoption from the foster home is scheduled for Friday.
Adoptions have also continued to be strong outside of our events. 17 kittens (Blackberry & Blarney, Santiago & Sagan, Mora & Moesha, Sebastian & Sebrina, O'Keefe, Archy, River & Ripley, Delta & Dexi, Tippi, Seagram, Ariel) and 2 adult cats (Ace, Cerena) have been adopted since our event just two weeks ago on 7/13. It was especially rewarding to see Cerena find a good match. Kim M's cousin, who owns a small shop in Chicago, was looking for a cat to be her companion in the shop during the many hours she spends there. She and Cerena hit it off well, and Cerena is settling in nicely. Many thanks to Kim M for the referral!
This brings us to a total of 50 adoptions in the month of July!!! Truly amazing!! This is our highest single month total ever! Much cause for celebration :-)
Many thanks to the volunteers and fosters who made this event possible. A special welcome to Whitney, our newest volunteer. Thanks to Sara P, Steve, Whitney and Candy for the smooth and efficient set-up and clean-up. Thanks to Sara and Candy for your outstanding help with adoption counseling. Thanks to Jen & Amanda B, Amanda S, Erika, Marilyn, Sara P, Monica, Laura/Rick B and Kim/Hunter M, for bringing your foster kittens to the adoption event and staying as much as your could to help promote them to our guests. Shout out also to Gillian & Nora for stopping by and bringing some delicious brownies.
Thanks also for all of the other valuable contributions to this event - to Steve for arranging the event with the store; to Candy for the excellent photography & videography during the event; to Connie, Stephanie and Ted for promoting the event on our Facebook page and web site; to Steve for the professional-looking cage cards and volunteer name tags; to Debbie and Mike for the on-going updates to the Adoptable Cats & Kittens board and binder; to Steve for entering 30+ adoptions into the PetSmart iPad; to Sara P for helping with the laundry and coordinating our lunch run.
We have 3 events scheduled for August and early September. Thanks to Steve for arranging these with the stores.
- Saturday, 8/10, Pet Supplies Plus at 720 E. Ogden Ave. in Naperville, from 11am-3pm.
- Saturday, 8/24, PetSmart at 63 Rice Lake Square in Wheaton, from 11am-3pm.
- Sunday, 9/15, PetSmart at 63 Rice Lake Square in Wheaton, from 11am-3pm. This is the 3rd PetSmart National Adoption Weekend of the year.
Looking forward to continuing to help our cats & kittens find loving homes :-)
Thanks,
Sue