Cheap Adoptions Offered for Cats

In the face of a sluggish adoption rate for cats, the Riverside County Department of Animal Services announced today it is offering feline adoptions for $5 through Oct. 31.

"The $5 cat adoption rate will hopefully remind the public that we have a large homeless cat population at our shelters, and they need loving families just as much as the dogs,'' said Robert Miller, director of Animal Services.

The promotion -- dubbed "Five-Dollar Fuzz Ball" -- is part of the county's participation in the American Society for the Prevention and Cruelty of Animals Challenge.

The challenge seeks to boost pet adoptions nationwide by giving away $300,000 in grant money to shelter organizations that boast the highest increase in pet adoption rates. The grand prize is $100,000.

Some employees at Riverside County's three shelters -- the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms, Blythe and Jurupa Valley -- have been caught singing "Five-Dollar Fuzz Ball,'' to the tune of Subway's "Five -Dollar Foot Long" jingle, according to John Welsh, a spokesman for the Department of Animal Services.

The Coachella Valley animal campus serves the cities of Palm Desert, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, La Quinta and Rancho Mirage.