RescueCats

Kitten and Cat Rescue and Adoption recently celebrated their fourth anniversary.

The Fayetteville-based

group provides foster homes for cats and kittens while they wait to be

adopted into permanent homes. This, in turn, keeps the cats from being

euthanized in other shelters.

RescueCats

has 15 members, many of whom have belonged to the group since it formed.

Nanette Nell had fostered cats for similar organizations and then decided

to found the group. "I just couldn't handle the idea of how many

animals died in shelters," said Nell.

Neither could

the people who became members. Nell estimates that they helped place close

to 500 cats in loving homes last year and that members are currently caring

for 100 cats. The group receives older cats mainly when a family is moving

or fue to a family member's allergies, but they tend to have more kittens

than older cats. In fact, last week the group received close to two dozen

kittens.

The criteria

for those wishing to adopt a cat from RescueCats involves filling out

an application, keeping the cat inside and home inspections, if necesary.

All of the cats are spayed or neutered and vaccinated before they are

allowed to be adopted, which saves the person adopting the cat a lot of

money.

While RescueCats

does an amazing job of caring for the cats and finding them good homes,

Nell stresses that pet owners should get their pets spayed and neutered.

"A lot of the problems we have with overpopulation of pets would

not occur if pets were spayed or neutered."

The group has

a meeting once a month and runs adoption centers at the PetsMart in Fayetteville

every Sunday from 1-5 p.m. and the PetsMart in Morrow on Saturdays from

11 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information on the group, phone 678-817-9647 or

visit www.rescuecats.org.