There’s no better time to get a loving pet than in June, which just so happens to be the “adopt a shelter cat” month.

In the month of June, animal shelters around the nation are promoting the adoption of cats, including the Pearl River County SPCA.

PRCSPCA is excited about this special opportunity to find forever homes for the cats in their shelter, said former president of the shelter and current public relations representative, Maria Diamond.

There are plenty of advantages to owning a cat, said Diamond, and it starts with cats being self-sufficient.

“[Cats] use a litter box, allows their owners to avoid rushing home every couple hours to let them out. Cats clean themselves and do a great job at it, keeping their coats pretty and smelling good,” said Diamond. “I use to own a dog and I would not let it sleep with me because of the smell, but with cats that smell isn’t there. They really know how to take care of themselves and are a great pet for someone who has never owned one before,” said Diamond.

The PRCSPCA shelter never has a shortage of animals, said SPCA Director Judy Wheaton, and they try to make sure anyone who is interested gets the pet they want.

“People don’t understand the surplus of cats we have here at our shelter. If they spent just a day here to see the volume of puppies and kittens we get, they would immediately apply to be fosters for these animals or adopt a couple for themselves,” said Diamond. “When you get 200 to 300 pets, there’s only so much space we can provide. Even if we have 100 foster homes, the problem is when they come back after they turn eight weeks old, who do you put down to make room?”

The goal of the shelter is to be able to either ship the animals to different shelters that either are getting interest in adopters or is a better home for the pet, or keep the animals as long as they can until nature takes its course, Diamond said.

“We want to become a no-kill shelter, but until the community becomes responsible and spay and neuter their pets, it’s hard to do that. We really need the community to get involved to help these animals out. There’s just not enough adopters right now,” said Diamond.

Diamond recalled earlier this year where they received over 60 animals in just one day, making the living situation for these animals difficult, however they always find a way to make the animals happy, such as providing extra cages so they can get adopted, said Wheaton.

“The animals here are so happy. We make sure the atmosphere is as lovable and playful as can be so the animals are always delighted. Most of the time when these animals go to a foster home until they are old enough to come back, they have so much joy of being back with us,” said Diamond. “We provide everything from playgrounds to plenty of food and water to make sure they are all happy.”

The adoption process is simple and does not involve filling out endless amounts of paperwork, Diamond said. If someone wants to adopt, all they would have to do is come to the shelter, select a pet and go through a quick interview, she adds. Diamond tries to match the perfect pet to each adopter.

PRCSPCA has around 14-60 cats in the shelter throughout the year, said Diamond.

The animal shelter is located on Palestine Road and is available for walk-in customers or by appointment. The shelter is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10-4.