Adult cats can be adopted half price, just in time for Christmas kitten rush

Every holiday seasonas the weather turns coldthere's a run on kittens.

Craiglist ads for the furry balls of cuteness that entice people into 18 years of care, price them from free to more than $1,000 for a purebred animal.

The B.C. SPCA is urging people searching for a feline to consider an adult catat half-price adoption fees.

From Nov. 24 until Dec. 5, all adult cat adoption fees are 50 per cent off.

The price varies from shelter to shelter.

Cat adoptionsranges from about $74.50 for a senior cat (over eight years old)to $223.50 for a pair of bonded adults.

For a kitten adoption the SPCAsite lists a charge of$199.

Baby it's cold outside

"We're reminding British Columbians that when one cat is adopted, it frees up shelter space and allows us to bring another cat in from the cold," saidLorie Chortyk, the B.C. SPCA's general manager of community relations.

"The society takes in several thousands of cats each year. Right now, there's more than 1,600 felines in B.C. SPCA care who need loving, forever homes."

Homeless and feral cats are rampant in B.C. Many suffer injury, illness, predator attacks and frostbite.

Why so many cats in the cold?

Last year's cuddly Christmas kitten gets dumped often illegally then breeds, perpetuating the problem.

Other pets with no identification like microchips or tattoos canget lost.

Adoption fees includevaccinations, spaying or neutering, permanent ID, any necessary medical careand internal and external parasite treatment.

Normal adoption counselling and matching takes place to ensure animals go to a good home, and Petsecure provides six weeks of free pet insurance.

All adopted cats are microchipped, and for only $12 annually or a $45 lifetime fee, the animal will be registered in the province-wide B.C. Pet Registry.