Local

20 cats rescued from Pine Hills home

PINE HILLS, Fla. — Twenty cats, including six kittens, were picked up from a home in Pine Hills Wednesday, Orange County Animal Services said.

The cats appeared to be in good health and officials said many of them were fearful as they were adjusting to their new environment.

Orange County Animal Services said the shelter was close to capacity prior to receiving the 20 additional cats. There are now more than 200 cats available for adoption at the shelter.

"This is the second large grouping of animals the shelter has received in the past 30 days," said Dil Luther, Division Manager of Orange County Animal Services. "The recent Apopka dog fighting bust brought in 34 dogs to Animal Services."

Those dogs remain housed at Animal Services as a petition for custody is currently pending.

For the remainder of June, officials said the shelter is waiving the standard $40 adoption fee for cats who are six months and older, calling them, "certified pre-owned cats." Many of the cats were surrendered by their previous owner, but still have plenty of love and mileage left to share.

Each cat adoption includes spay/neuter, initial vaccinations, microchip identification deworming, FLV/FIV test, rabies vaccination and an adoption welcome kit.

Orange County Animal Services is located at 2769 Conroy Road in Orlando near the Mall at Millenia. The facility is open for adoptions weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and weekends from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please call (407) 836-3111 or visit www.ocnetpets.com.