Kittens first, football second

For football fans everywhere, Sunday marks Super Bowl 50. But for those not so into sports, there is a purr-fect alternative. The third annual Kitten Bowl will be aired on the Hallmark Channel Sunday, Feb. 7 at noon. With participating teams such as the North Shore Animal League and Last Hope Animal Rescue, Long Islanders won’t want to miss the most furr-ocious game of the year.

“The kitten bowl is very exciting for us and for three years now, Hallmark Channel has invited us to participate,” Last Hope Vice President Milda Darzinskis said. “The purpose of the Kitten Bowl is to encourage and show the public to adopt and not to buy. The shelter is loaded with these beautiful animals just waiting to be adopted.”

Last Hope Animal Rescue in Wantagh will be participating in this year’s Kitten Bowl with a team of 12 cats called “The Last Hope Lions,” representing the small shelter on Beltagh Avenue. Alexander, a 7-year-old fat and sassy cat, was chosen to watch in amusement from a makeshift bar scene.

“We are hoping the exposure from the Kitten Bowl will help get Alexander adopted,” Darzinskis added. “Last Hope does the most amazing things and we provide low costs. Cats come to us hissing and scared and over time we help domesticate and rehabilitate them.”

With more than 100 cat volunteers and five satellite locations, Last Hope helps stranded and abandoned cats in the area. The Cat Adoption Center will be holding an open house at the shelter on the day of the big game while the Kitten Bowl streams live on television.

“I’ve been putting on the Kitten Bowl open house for the past three years,” Cat Center Coordinator Ali Brosokas said. “We have raffles, food and kittens looking for a home.”

All 12 cats from the Kitten Bowl have been adopted since the filming in October, so although those kittens won’t be up for adoption, they may make an “alumni” appearance. “It’s just a really fun day and the atmosphere is just so exciting,” Brosokas said. “Every aspect of this organization is just so rewarding.”

“There are tens of thousands of rescue shelters in the United States,” added outreach coordinator Joanne Anderson, who said that Last Hope has helped find homes for cats in other states, too. “For us to be so fortunate to be chosen to be on national television is amazing. These cats could have been in a dumpster. And now they’re on national television!”