By Sam Skopp
For the second time since its inception in June of this year, Venice-based cat rescue group Beach City Kitties held an adoption event at Got Pet Food on 14th Street in Santa Monica on Saturday, July 15, and will continue to do so on the 3rd Saturday of each month.
Organization Founder and “Purresident” Katelyn Michele explained that their partnership started with Got Pet Food through a friend at a cat litter company called Invisible Cat Litter who sells their product at the store.
“They’re really great guys here, and a very nice local business,” said Michelle. “I’ve met a lot of the neighbors around here.”
Michele hopes that families in particular will attend, and hosted face painting for children as part of last month’s event, at which four cats were adopted. In the future, she hopes it will expand to include things like a coffee cart and live entertainment.
“We really want to make it a family event,” Michele said.
The cats in the care of Beach City Kitties have either been rescued from high kill L.A. County shelters, or brought to them by groups who catch and neuter cats. While adult cats trapped by TNR, or Trap-Neuter-Return, groups are let back into the wild, kittens are put into the care of organizations like Beach City Kitties.
“I think a lot of people don’t realize how many cats are killed in the shelters here in L.A. And it needs to be solved by getting your cats fixed,” Michele said. “It’s always good to adopt from a rescue like us.”
She explained that Beach City Kitties houses its cats in foster homes, in order to socialize them, and also acts as a resource for adoptees.
“I have like 10 cats in my house so I know everything there is to know about cats,” she said.
Beach City Kitties will return to Got Pet Food in August and will also participate in August’s Venice Art Crawl. For more information, visit beachcitykitties.com.
