You have two opportunities this week to support Angels of Assisi at family-friendly events.

Angels will host a kids night this Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the shelter, 415 Campbell Ave. in downtown Roanoke. The event will kick off Prevention of Cruelty to Animals month (April).

The evening will feature story time, a tour and visit with the animals, snacks and a visit from Botetourt Animal Control officers.

Then on Saturday, Angels will be on the move at East Gate Church of the Nazarene’s Easter Egg Hunt.

The church is located at 2002 East Gate Ave. in Roanoke and the event takes place from 10 a.m. to noon.

The shelter will bring dogs and bunnies that are available for adoption, and volunteers will be happy to collect donations of Purina pet food.

In addition to the adoption event and pet food drive, there will be hidden eggs for the hunting, face painting, games including three-legged and gunny sack races, and free hot dogs.

Santa Claus is coming to town, and he would be happy to bring your family a new furry friend.

Any animal adopted between now and Dec. 24 from Angels of Assisi is eligible for a free Santa delivery.

Cats and kittens can be adopted for $25 (adopt a second cat or kitten for only $5!) Dogs over 6 months old  can be adopted for only $75. All pets are up-to-date on vaccinations and spayed/nuetered.

Adopted pets will be held at the shelter until the jolly old elf is ready to make his rounds on Christmas Eve between noon and 3 p.m.

If you aren’t ready to adopt a pet this holiday season but would like to share the spirit of giving with shelter pets, you can attend Breakfast with the Angels on Christmas morning between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Coffee and breakfast items will be served and you can cuddle and spoil the dogs and cats as much as you like.

The shelter is located at 415 Campbell Ave. S.W. in downtown Roanoke.

For more information visit angelsofassisi.org.

Becky Mushko, a dog lover, schoolteacher-turned-writer and author of the Peevish Pen blog, posted this photo on my Facebook timeline.

This handsome, intact, long-legged hound wandered into Becky’s Penhook yard and decided her kennel would be a good place to crash. This fellow —  most likely a fox hound or Walker coonhound — has the same three digits on each side of torso.

Becky didn’t speculate on the medium used to apply the digits, but it looks like paint in these photos on her blog.

There is a link on Becky’s blog with her email address if you have any idea where this friendly fellow came from and where he should be returned. While he seems to be making himself home with Becky’s pack, I think she is more keen on the idea of him going back where he belongs than keeping him.

Madeline Talent writes that she goes to the SPCA a couple of times a week to walk some of the dogs. She really likes the dogs that have a zest for life, like Sebastian, a long time resident still waiting for a forever home.

Sebastian, Madeline writes, is a high-energy dog that loves longs walks, the park and playing ball, all of which you can see in this photo collage Madeline sent.

Would you like to take a long walk on the beach with Sebastian? Check out the Roanoke Valley SPCA website.

Loyal blog reader Julie needs some help finding a home for Cash.

Before we go too crazy commenting “Me! Me! Pick me!” and sending me your routing numbers,  let me clarify that Cash is this adorable kitty here in this photo, and he is currently living with Julie and her other kitties.

And it’s just not working out.

Mixing kitties can be a tricky thing.  Cats almost never seem to like each other when they first meet,but sometimes they will warm up to each other. More often than not, they never make that bond or even find a way to peacefully co-exist with creatures they view as rivals. Sort of like contestants on “The Bachelor”*

So, alas, Cash does not get a rose and must find a new love.

According to Julie, he’s a wonderful kitty other than giving the occasional love bite, a habit that can be corrected with patience.  He is likely a purebred Turkish Van, around 5 years old, very playful and healthy, neurtered, microchipped and up-to-date on all shots.

Julie found the fluffy feline as a stray. She would keep him if he could make friends with her other two kitties, but alas, Cash probably needs to be an only-cat because he, like my cat Thai, just has to be the center of attention.

If you know someone who might be interested in meeting Cash, please e-mail me at pets@roanoke.com and I will get you in touch with Julie.

*While I indulge in my fair share of trash television, I do NOT watch “The Bachelor”.  I’ve seen enough to know how it goes.

If you ask the people who work at shelters, they would tell you that ANY month is a fine time to adopt a kitty.

But since June is officially designated as THE month, let’s explore our local options:

Angels of Assisi has many fine felines in residence, and they have stunning pictures to prove it. Professional photographer Vickie Holt donates her services to make the animals at Angels look their very best. Take a gander at these lovely photos.

The Roanoke Valley SPCA has many, many kittens and cats that are antsy to find their way into your heart and home. Not sure you want to make a commitment to one – or more- kitties at the moment? Give it a trial run by fostering a couple of littermates. We all know there is nothing in the world cuter than a box full of kittens. Visit the website for an application to become a foster family.

Need a customer service representative but a little too strapped for cash to add to your payroll? MasCATs are available and will work for kibble and a clean litter box. Contact Diane Novak and she can set you up with am extremely friendly kitty or two to live in your office or store, either permanently or as a foster. You may just make a love connection between your MasCat and a customer.

Got mice in your barn or warehouse? Novak can also supply you with a Barn Cat Buddy, a rodent-repelling technician who will, once acclimated to your surroundings, keep the rats at bay.  Again, this green method of pest control requires only food and comfy potty facilities to be a reliable worker.

The Franklin County Humane Soceity’s Adoption Center is crawling with cuteness this time of year. You can have your pick of the litter in almost any color and texture of coat. Visit the little darlings in their kitty playroom on Route 220 just north of Rocky Mount.

Were you thinking an older, more mature kitty will fit better into your lifestyle? Take a look at the beauties living in the cattery at League for Animal Protection in Fincastle. These sweet cats, including Nutmeg here, are looking for a second chance at a happy home.

If you are thinking about adopting a cat, you will need supplies. For your convenience, you can adopt a cat from the Feline Education, Rescue and Adoption League (FERAL) at PetsMart in Valley View and shop for all the things you will need for your new cat all in one place.  If you shop on the southside of town, you can find adoptable kitties from Angels and the RVSPCA at Petco in Towers Shopping Center.

We love photos here at the Wag, so if you do add a new purr to your home this month, please e-mail photos to pets@roanoke.com and tell us your story.

It’s that time of year again when the local shelters become inundated with too many terrible cute and cuddly kittens, all looking for a forever home.

Look at Eeyore here. I mean, look at the face. How can you not want to kiss that little kitty face? And unlike his Winnie-The-Pooh-sidekick-inspired nickname, there’s no rain cloud following this little fellow.

Eeyore and scores more of adorable felines need to find new families, pronto. So Kathy Perdue from the Roanoke Valley SPCA sent me an e-mail letting me know that the adoption center is lowering adoption fees for kitties this weekend .

“We are offering a $10 discount on all cat adoptions now through Sunday,” Perdue wrote. “The discount also applies to our “Buddy Pricing”.  So, someone adopting a pair of kittens, the adoption fee would be $75 (regularly $85) for the first and $37.50 for the buddy.  Pairs would not necessarily need to be from the same litter, thought that is preferable since many of them are very attached to their littermates.”

So if getting groovy with the doggies at Woofstock at Elmwood Park is not your scene, maybe getting acquainted with some fabulous felines would be more your style.

All pets adopted from the RVSPCA are up-to-date on shots, spayed or neutered and microchipped.

The adoption center is located at 1340 Baldwin Ave. in Roanoke and is open on Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In her job as a licensed veterinary technician at Veterinarians to Cats, Jessica Spangler sees her share of injured kitties.

In November, she found one near her home in the Orchards in Bonsack.

Spangler said the grey-and-white, approximately 1-and-a-half-year-old kitty was in a sewer drain, unable to lift himself out. His pelvis had been broken, most likely from a run-in with a car.

She took the little guy to work, and the staff at VTC nursed him back to health. They named him Johnny Appleseed in honor of the area in which he was found.

Johnny is completely healed, has gained five pounds, and is happily living at the vet’s office that is his temporary home.

Now he’d like a permanent one.

If you know of anyone who’d like to adopt a really cool kitty, call Veterinarians to Cats office, 989-1400 to come in and meet Johnny. The office is located at 2750 Electric Road in Southwest County.

Turner

Tiger

Last but not least, these are the last two of the 10 kitties displaced from their temporary home by the Nov. 15 PetSmart fire and are now seeking permanent digs.

Turner is a black and white tuxedo kitten.  He is approximately four months old and unspeakably cute. Turner is a little guy with a goal. He was born to a feral cat on Norfolk Avenue, but despite his humble beginnings, he aspired to be a superstar in a loving family.

Tiger is a domestic short hair gray and white tabby and he’s just had his first birthday. He likes people, and gosh darn it, people like Tiger too.  Tiger was running out of time at the pound before the folks at FERAL stepped in. Now he wants to spend his time in someone’s lap.

Call 362-9012 (Shirley) or 989-7578 (Thelma) if you would like to learn more about FERAL*Shi or any of the cats featured here on the blog this week.

*FERAL is an acronym for Feline Education, Rescue and Adoption League. All these kitties are friendly, spayed and neutered, up-to-date on shots and very people-friendly.

Izzy

Amelia

Here are some fun facts about tortoise shell colored cats – or as I like to call them butterscotch fudge furries: Over 99 percent of them are female due to something in their specific DNA code. They are usually very soft. I have no scientific evidence of that, only anecdotal proof because I’ve had two torties in my family over the years. My daughter’s tortie, India, has a coat that feels like a mink.

They make great pets, but they are often overlooked because they are unconventionally beautiful. These two gorgeous torties are available for adoption with FERAL.

Izzy is approximately six months old. She is very docile and loving. Apparently she’s into retail therapy because she was found wandering around behind a store in Roanoke.

Amelia is a diluted calico (more butter than fudge) and she’s just a little over a year old. She is very friendly and loving and came to FERAL from death row at a pound. She’s pretty happy to be looking for a home right now.

Contact FERAL at 362-9012 (Shirley) or 989-7578 (Thelma) if you would like to learn more about Izzy, Amelia or any of the other FERAL* kitties.

*FERAL is an acronym for Feline Education, Rescue and Adoption League. These felines are very friendly.