Humane Shelters
You can do yourself and a grateful cat a huge favor by looking first at your local shelter. Kitties here are almost always destined for euthenasia (our polite term for killing) if not adopted within whatever time limit has been set for that particular shelter. Shelters charge an adoption fee and generally require you provide for vaccinations and neutering of the cat you bring home. The two kittens pictured above were waiting for adoption at the Healdsburg, CA animal shelter we visited. You'll be torn between appealing kittens clustered in cages, but keep in mind that grown cats often are more "user-friendly", and will be ever-so-happy to find a new home. These cats often came from a happy family setting, and were given up because of illness of an owner, divorce, death, etc. The benefits to you in adopting an older cat are many:

• Older cats (other than ferals) are usually trained to a litter box
• Grown cats may already have been neutered
• Older cats may make the transition to a new home easier than kittens
• Older cats are much more grateful!
• You'll have the satisfaction of knowing you've given a home to a cat

Rescue Organizations
These volunteer-driven groups are springing up in abundance all over the U.S., Canada, and in other countries too. Some groups are fortunate enough to have their own "shelter"; most depend on volunteer foster homes to care for the cats until a permanent home can be found. The foster homes groups sometimes have regular "adoption days" where people can match up to a pet. PetSmart is an industry leader among pet stores in that they do not sell cats and dogs; they do open up their stores regularly for rescue organizations "adoption days". with their PETsMART Charities in-store Luv-A-Pet adoption program.

Other major pet product stores such as Pet Food Express also participate in "adoption days," so check your local newspapers for the dates and times.

Free-to-Good-Home
Perhaps a neighbor or co-worker has a litter of kittens they're trying to give away. Consider that taking one of these kittens is encouraging the donors in their folly of failing to spay/neuter the parent cat(s) with their "We always find homes for them" attitudes. Understand also, that each of these "back-yard breeders'" kittens displaces a potential home for a shelter cat destined for euthanasia.

If you've already fallen in love with that kitten, carefully question the owner about its history, whether it's had vaccinations yet, any illness in the litter--better yet, ask to see the mother cat in the home environment. You'll get a better idea of the conditions the kitten has been living in, whether there is any visible indication of illness in the rest of the litter, and the condition of the mother cat.