THOMASVILLE — People who adopt kittens express varied reasons about why they like felines and want to give homeless kittens purrfect forever homes.

More than 100 people attended a Sunday Miss Kitty Feline Sanctuary & Adoption Center event at which a dozen kittens were adopted or taken into foster care.

Jenna Merschman, holding a tiny black-and-white kitten she adopted, described kittens as “loving and cuddly.”

“You can cuddle with them for hours,” she said.

She added that kittens are sweet and bring happiness. 

“And they’re definitely better than dogs,” she said.

Merschman’s mother, Leah Merschman, sat nearby cuddling another kitten the family adopted.

The Merschman family has a 10-year-old female cat they are certain will nurture the new additions.

Delle Spence’s family has fostered two Miss Kitty kittens. She and her son, Jack, adopted a kitten Sunday. They discussed returning to adopt the kitten’s sibling.

“It’s just like an addition to the family,” Jack Spence said in describing what he likes about kittens. “It’s like a playmate.”

Miss Kitty is trying to find homes for 50 kittens left at the 425 Covington Ave. facility. The majority of the kittens — 42 — were left before sunrise one morning in April.

The Sunday event also served as a kitten shower. 

“A playpen in the lobby was filled with food items, litter, nursing bottles and pet beds, to name a few,” said Carol Jones, Miss Kitty board chairman and executive director of the adjacent South Georgia Low-Cost Spay & Neuter Clinic. “Many attendees also generously made cash donations. The Miss Kitty Sunday event was a smashing success.” 

Lindsi Jones of Lindsi Jones Photography in Valdosta took hundreds of complimentary photos of Miss Kitty kittens and several “public” cats who sat for their portraits, all in colorful bow ties, Jones said.

The Sunday event was conducted at the spay and neuter clinic in observance of more than 17,000 cats and dogs neutered and spayed since the clinic opened in June 2015.

Many more Miss Kitty kittens need homes. For more information, call (229) 236-0167.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820