Get a Cat

Two new kittens joined the Chicagoist family this weekend, and we thought we should pass on our new-found kitty info. We headed to the Tree House Animal Foundation, a no-kill, cageless shelter on the North Side. Way north, really. The cats roam the house more or less freely, with special needs cats on the first floor right when you walk in. You'd be surprised how quickly cats with use of only their front legs can get around. Upstairs, we visited a dozen or so adult cats and eight kittens, two of whom came home. Kittens under eight months old can only be adopted in pairs, but there are tons of young adult, adult, and senior citizen cats that need homes, too.

We had to fill out a bunch of paperwork before we were approved for the adoption, including signing a contract that we would never declaw our cats or let them outside, that we would feed them well, etc., which made us feel like extremely proud cat madres indeed. For a $75 adoption fee per feline, our cats have been spayed (neutered?), vaccinated, tested for cat diseases, and ID chipped. All in all, Chicagoist gives two enthusiastic cat-thumbs up to the Tree House Animal Foundation, and thanks the friendly people there for caring for our new darlings. If you're thinking about adopting a cat, call your landlord, hit the ATM, and head on over to THAF--even if you don't find a cat, at least you'll get to think about how much those kitties love Halle Berry.