Selma Caal holds the paw of Mewli, a 9-month-old kitten up for adoption. Caal and her daughter, Catherine Baylyff, are looking to adopt after their family cat passed.
On Feb. 21, the Feline Foundation of Greater Washington (FFGW) arranged chairs, tables and cages in preparation for their monthly Reston cat adoption fair in the Just Cats Clinic at Lake Anne.
FFGW is a volunteer organization, funded by donations, that works to get cats from around the D.C. area adopted. The group also holds weekly adoption fairs on the third Sunday of every month from 1-3 p.m. in Reston and every Sunday from noon-3 p.m. in a PetSmart in Leesburg.
Laura Goodman, the foundation’s president and one of its founders, fell in love with cats in what she considers to be late in life.
“I was allergic to cats until I was in my late 20s. When I discovered I was not, friends forced them on me from every direction and I was very resistant,” Goodman said. “Haley, my first cat, came to my doorstep in 1992. I started in cat rescue because I wanted to give people what Haley had given me.”
“Haley, my first cat, came to my doorstep in 1992. I started in cat rescue because I wanted to give people what Haley had given me.”
--Laura Goodman
Selma Caal came to the Reston fair after losing her cat, Obi Wan Kenobi, of 12 years.
“That cat was my little companion. He was just such an emotional support,” Caal said. “My daughter doesn’t know what life is like without a cat and I think our house is lonely without one. We’re looking for a new companion, not to replace Obi Wan, but to have that again.”
Caal spent some time with four 9-month-old kittens, Mewli, Spike, Evie and Mewmew. The foundation hopes to adopt the kittens in pairs, so that they can maintain their close relationships. Two other kittens from the litter have already been adopted.
FFGW also provides fostering and pays for veterinary services for cats in their care. They take in stray and shelter cats that are considered marginally adoptable.
“When I first started, municipal shelters and private charities were very suspicious of each other. Euthanasia was the preferable option to trusting cats with a private rescue,” Goodman said. “In the D.C. area, there has been a complete shift.”
Shelters rescues of feral cats have some advantages, such as the cat already being socialized. In many cases, the cats survive to that point because they did well and were friendly in the stressful shelter environments. The downsides are that the cats are often considered slim adoption possibilities due to their age or health.
“The Feline Foundation has always had a soft spot for the broken ones. The harder and more heartbreaking the case, the faster we run and the more we open our arms.”
The next adoption fair at Lake Anne will be on March 20. FFGW is also searching for foster home to care for cats until adoption in the Reston area. For more information see http://www.ffgw.org.