Kitten

If you've been thinking of adding a kitten or cat to your family, June is the month to do it. For the fifth year, two Baltimore shelters will waive adoption fees all month.  The Baltimore Animal Welfare Alliance celebrates its fifth annual Baltimore 500: A Race to Save Lives during June, which is Adopt-a-Cat Month. All month, the Baltimore Humane Society and Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) will waive adoption fees on kittens and cats. “We are now in 'kitten season,' when there is a surge of adorable, unwanted kittens entering animal shelters that are already full with cats needing homes,” says Aileen Gabbey, executive director of the Maryland SPCA.

It's kitten season, which is the time of year animal shelters are flooded with young cats. It can be overwhelming for shelters, which can lack the space, funding, and the people to care for young kittens, some of which need to be bottle-fed every few hours, and many of which must be weaned, spayed/neutered, and then adopted. It's also when well-meaning animal lovers come through the doors with feral litters they've found outside. The experts at Best Friends Animal Society, which runs one of the largest no-kill shelters in the world and works to end shelter deaths of dogs and cats, say that while people have the best of intentions in rescuing stray litters of kittens, it's not always the best thing to do. Shelter managers do everything they can to save all the pets they receive, says Best Friends, but it's not always possible, and about 70 percent of cats that enter shelters never leave.

Calling all cat lovers! You are invited to the Baltimore Humane Society's Kitten Shower, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 10, for fun, games, prizes, refreshments, and lots of kitten snuggling. A veterinarian will be on-hand to answer questions about cats (and dogs) and talk about fostering options for adoptable pets. There will be lots of activities and opportunities to win prizes, along with a bottle-feeding demonstration for current and prospective kitten owners.

Kitten season is coming! The experts at the Baltimore Humane Society say they see an explosion of newborn kittens at their shelter every spring, many of whom need round-the-clock bottle feeding and a whole lot of attentive care. It's no wonder: Up to 8 million pets enter shelters every year, and nearly half of those are euthanized. The Baltimore Humane Society, a no-kill shelter, is looking for foster parents who might be willing to temporarily take kittens into their homes until they're ready for adoption.

Sometimes, it's just the littlest of things that can bring people together. In this case it's a kitten, a little furry thing that's charmed an entire Baltimore neighborhood. No one's sure exactly when the kitten came into their lives. She was just there one day, perched in a window on Lombard Street. She was a tiny thing then, a black and white cutie. If someone would tap on the window -- and they always did -- she'd follow the finger with a pink paw pad. If she was feeling frisky she'd try to pounce on it -- not realizing a pane of glass was holding her back.

Question: How do you keep a kitten from digging in houseplants? Would pine cones harm the kitten? Answer: A cat repellent can be applied to your houseplants. These repellents will need to be applied every few weeks to stay effective. You could also cover the exposed potting soil with rough decorative rocks to discourage cats from digging. Or you can arrange flat rock pieces on the surface that are too heavy for the kitten to move. We doubt pine cones would harm your kitten, but you can check with your veterinarian who also may have ideas for protecting your houseplants.

In a twist of fate, a scrappy street feline has become not only the 1st Mariner Arena mascot but the star of the latest "Show Your Soft Side" campaign ad. First Mariner general manager Frank Remesch was almost ready to leave work this fall when one of his staff called him out to the parking area -- a cat was under one of the cars. Remesch, an animal lover who rescues Mastiffs and let hundreds of city shelter animals weather Hurricane Sandy in the arena, flopped onto the concrete and proceeded to look for something furry, as one by one more of his employees came out to watch, help and bring flashlights.

Anne Arundel County firefighters didn't use a ladder to snatch a cat from a tree last week, but rather a thermal imaging device to rescue a kitten inside the wall of a Glen Burnie apartment. Fire department officials said members of Station 26, in South Glen Burnie, responded to the 8000 block of Nolpark Court in on May 24 after getting a call about the possibility of a cat stuck inside the wall of an apartment. Firefighters arrived and said they heard a faint noise sounding like a cat meowing.

When IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden came to town last month for the Grand Prix of Baltimore, he fell in love with a puffy, gray kitten. The race car driver posed with MJ , a kitten from the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS), for the city's "Show Your Soft Side" anti-animal abuse campaign. Newgarden, 22, captured second place in the race and flew home to Nashville a few days later, but he couldn't get the tiny, pink-nosed kitten out of his mind. A few weeks later, he submitted an application to BARCS to adopt the kitten and was approved.

It took nearly 50 firefighters 20 minutes to gain control of a two-alarm townhouse fire in Bel Air Sunday afternoon that destroyed one home and damaged two others. Four fire companies responded to the blaze, which started about 2:15 p.m. in a center unit on the 600 block of Gairloch Place, said Rich Gardiner, a spokesman for Harford County Fire and Emergency Medical Services. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Gardiner said. It "totally destroyed" the first and second floors of the home in which it originated, Gardiner said, and caused minor damage to the two adjacent homes.

When IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden came to town last month for the Grand Prix of Baltimore, he fell in love with a puffy, gray kitten. The race car driver posed with MJ , a kitten from the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS), for the city's "Show Your Soft Side" anti-animal abuse campaign. Newgarden, 22, captured second place in the race and flew home to Nashville a few days later, but he couldn't get the tiny, pink-nosed kitten out of his mind. A few weeks later, he submitted an application to BARCS to adopt the kitten and was approved.

Lucky It's high cat season in Baltimore-area shelters, and their kitty condos are bursting at the seams with friendly felines who need homes. If you've been thinking of adding a sweet cat to your family, this weekend is your big chance: the Maryland SPCA is waiving all adoption fees this Saturday and Sunday. All cats and kittens will be spayed/neutered and up-to-date on vaccinations . Regular adoption procedures apply, as does a $17 Pet ID package fee, which includes collar, ID tag, Baltimore City license, and microchip.

The Humane Society of Harford County has introduced a new way to adopt a fun-loving feline - the "Pick Your Purr-Fect Price" cat adoption program, in which the humane society's intention is to unite even more fabulous felines with new families. Last year, HSHC took in more than 3,000 cats and kittens and expects this year to be just as busy. The spring and summer months are especially challenging because of the increased numbers of kittens and pregnant mothers entering the shelter.

If you've been thinking of adding a kitten or cat to your family, June is the month to do it. For the fifth year, two Baltimore shelters will waive adoption fees all month.  The Baltimore Animal Welfare Alliance celebrates its fifth annual Baltimore 500: A Race to Save Lives during June, which is Adopt-a-Cat Month. All month, the Baltimore Humane Society and Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) will waive adoption fees on kittens and cats. “We are now in 'kitten season,' when there is a surge of adorable, unwanted kittens entering animal shelters that are already full with cats needing homes,” says Aileen Gabbey, executive director of the Maryland SPCA.

Anne Arundel County firefighters didn't use a ladder to snatch a cat from a tree last week, but rather a thermal imaging device to rescue a kitten inside the wall of a Glen Burnie apartment. Fire department officials said members of Station 26, in South Glen Burnie, responded to the 8000 block of Nolpark Court in on May 24 after getting a call about the possibility of a cat stuck inside the wall of an apartment. Firefighters arrived and said they heard a faint noise sounding like a cat meowing.

Calling all cat lovers! You are invited to the Baltimore Humane Society's Kitten Shower, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 10, for fun, games, prizes, refreshments, and lots of kitten snuggling. A veterinarian will be on-hand to answer questions about cats (and dogs) and talk about fostering options for adoptable pets. There will be lots of activities and opportunities to win prizes, along with a bottle-feeding demonstration for current and prospective kitten owners.

This past weekend, I found a litter of stray kittens in my neighborhood. I attempted to capture them to send to a local shelter where they would have a chance at finding a permanent home. The kittens scattered when I approached, and I was only able to catch the slowest moving of the bunch. This kitten was very sick, with an infection in his eye that was leaking all over his face. I took him to the vet with the intention of paying for some antibiotics, nursing him back to health, having him neutered then turning him in to the Humane Society for adoption because I already have two lovely dogs, the maximum number of pets allowed by my landlord.

The Humane Society of Harford County has introduced a new way to adopt a fun-loving feline - the "Pick Your Purr-Fect Price" cat adoption program, in which the humane society's intention is to unite even more fabulous felines with new families. Last year, HSHC took in more than 3,000 cats and kittens and expects this year to be just as busy. The spring and summer months are especially challenging because of the increased numbers of kittens and pregnant mothers entering the shelter.

In a twist of fate, a scrappy street feline has become not only the 1st Mariner Arena mascot but the star of the latest "Show Your Soft Side" campaign ad. First Mariner general manager Frank Remesch was almost ready to leave work this fall when one of his staff called him out to the parking area -- a cat was under one of the cars. Remesch, an animal lover who rescues Mastiffs and let hundreds of city shelter animals weather Hurricane Sandy in the arena, flopped onto the concrete and proceeded to look for something furry, as one by one more of his employees came out to watch, help and bring flashlights.

Black kittens -- victims maybe of the silly idea that black cats are unlucky -- are the least likely color of cat to be adopted, and right now the MD SPCA has many of them that need homes. Get yourself a lucky black kitty through Tuesday, Nov. 6, and pay just $50, half of the regular adoption fee. Your kitty will be neutered, tattooed for identification and be up to date on vaccines and other health-care issues. Not up for a new family member? Help homeless animals at the SPCA by bidding on their silent auction items through Monday, Nov. 5 at 9 p.m. Auction items include Ravens tickets, vacations, pet items and more -- you can even have your own pets featured on the cover of their 2013 calendar!