Free Cat Friday returns to Fayetteville Animal Shelter on Oct. 23

Bubbles is an 8-week-old female kitten looking for a home.

Courtesy, Fayetteville Animal Shelter

Who needs a new little buddy? If it’s you, mark your calendar for Friday, Oct. 23.

That’s the date of the Fayetteville Animal Shelter’s fifth annual Free Cat Friday event.

The shelter is currently seeking homes for about 50 cats and kittens. The goal of the event is to empty the cages, and make some loving matches between locals and the furry little guys.

Since the Free Cat Friday program began in 2011, the shelter has found homes for over 200 cats and kittens, according to a news release.

Shelter officials said the facility is particularly crowded right now.

“Most people don’t think about this being a busy time of year for cats and kittens to be coming into the shelter, but aside from spring this is our busiest time of year,” said shelter administrator Joni Mosher. “It can be really overwhelming because we want to help all these stray cats and kittens, but we have limited space so having a big adoption event and making adoption accessible to people is a great solution.”

All of the available cats and kittens will be spayed or neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated prior to going home with their new families.

The shelter will open at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 23 and all the cats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Shelter officials are also encouraging would-be adopters to fill out their applications in advance so the staff has time to approve them before the event.

Applications can be picked up at the shelter, located at 1640 S. Armstrong Avenue in Fayetteville, or at fayetteville-ar.gov.