As frisky black, tiger and multi-colored kittens at the Norwich Animal Control Shelter vied for the attention of Mary Vega and her 14-year-old son Noah, they wondered if they could really leave with just one cat.

Nearby, a large feral female feline eyed the mother and son warily, while a grown gray vocal “biter” reached out from his cage.

Four-legged members of the Vega family already include a cat they got from the pound three-and-a-half years ago and a dog. Their other dog got sick and died one year ago.

“We wanted to wait a little while before thinking about it again and it just seems like the right time,” said Vega, a Norwich resident. She believes their pets “absolutely” relieve stress and she appreciates them even more during the pandemic.

“I think generally with everything going on in the world and all the negativity and then to have your animals who are the opposite of that, it just brings you joy and happiness to just even look at them,” she said.

The Vegas chose one animal: Spunky, a tiger kitten with unique markings.

Looking at the current litter at the pound, shelter volunteer and animal foster parent Sherry King said, “I miss them running around my house, because I had nine of them from the end of July up until they all came (to the shelter).”

King also knows she will receive a new litter, which might require bottle-feeding every two hours again.

“It never ends. And people who have brought me kittens that they’ve trapped in the yard keep my number. They give it to other people,” she said. “I even had the soup kitchen bring me a cat that had been hanging around. I’ve made a lot of contacts with people, so besides adopting them out of here, the Humane Society helps a lot.”

Referring to King as a “saint,” Animal Control Officer Carl Bourne said there are many cat colonies all over Norwich.

“There are a lot of people that know the neighborhood cats that are on their property,” he said, which do keep the rodents and other animals away. Sometimes, he said people ask to borrow a trap and they offer to pay to get a cat neutered or spayed.

“A lot of people are just resigned to the fact that they are caring for the ferals out there,” he said.

Bourne pointed out that there is a responsible way to care for wild cats.

“A lot of people just leave food out all the time, which attracts rodents, skunks and raccoons. People should have a set meal time. Cats are smart. They will figure out ‘I get fed at 5 p.m.’ and they’ll show up,” he said. “And once they get done eating, you take the food away.”

At the beginning of the pandemic in March, Bourne said many shelters closed down to the public and weren’t having any intakes, “because there wasn’t much known about the virus at the time.”

In March, he said the pound took in a terrier-mix dog, because one of the family members contracted COVID-19 and was not able to take the animal outside because of being quarantined.

“We didn’t have much guidance on how to handle the animal, so we had the animal under quarantine here as well,” Bourne said.

That’s when he learned to treat fur as fomite and about how long the virus persists on different surfaces.

“It ends up being a very, very low source of contracting the virus from,” especially if you wash your hands, Bourne said.

After someone in the family passed because of the virus, he said, “The dog ended up being surrendered to us, which was understandable,” and the animal was adopted by a Massachusetts family in May.

Sometimes, King said people come in with specific requests about coloring and sometimes animals pick you.

Usually black cats get picked last, Bourne said, which could partially be due to superstition.

“Maybe people think black cats are boring looking,” he said. “They’re harder to see. They don’t catch the eye.”

King said two black kittens named Greta Garbo and Mugsy Malone “are the last of the litter.”

For Bourne, who has been filling in temporarily for one year as an animal control officer, this is not just a job.

“The animals that are here are the top priority,” he said.

After seeing “the cats hit by cars, homeless cats and cats that get attacked by animals,” he urges people to keep their cats indoors.

“They’re resilient creatures, but it’s still a dangerous world out there. I wouldn’t want something that I love to come back with a bite wound and now it needs to be quarantined,” he said.

Bourne and his wife, Holly, who has worked in animal care most of her life, have been fostering and adopting animals for years.

“I probably feed off her. She has a very kind heart,” he said.

Like a proud father, Bourne shows a photo of Hannah, a 17-year-old “crusty” old dark tortoiseshell cat they are fostering. She has been diagnosed with diabetes and Stage 2 Renal Failure and the veterinarian doesn’t expect her to live long. They also adopted an 18-and-a-half-year-old cat named Anakin from the Humane Society, a black cat named Mal, a pit-mix named Betsy from Georgia, a foster failure with high anxiety, as well as Henry, a gray tiger cat, which they fostered and bottle-fed as a kitten and later adopted.

They also raised a black Labrador puppy for a year for Guiding Eyes for the Blind, during which time he learned a lot about obedience training.

Before the Vegas left, Bourne offered a tip, which often helps cats get along: “Scratching releases pheromones and you can scratch both of them with each other’s (scent).”

He added, “Let your pets know that this cat is part of our family” and advised monitoring their play to ensure it is productive and healthy and not bullying.

“The adjustment period is for your household adjusting to the animal as well, not just the animal adjusting to the household,” he said.

Bourne cautioned against surprising someone with a pet for a birthday or Christmas gift without having discussed it or researched it together.

“It’s probably not a good idea,” he said. “Some people might not be ready for the responsibility of caring for a living creature that needs food, shelter, medicine, medical care and love.”

He said some people might use caring for an animal as a way to teach responsibility, “so it depends on the kid and the family if they’re willing to put in the work.”

Imagine a scenario where a 6-year-old child is given a German shepherd puppy, Bourne said, and then the child shirks his or her responsibility. “Is the parent going to be responsible enough to pick up the slack?” he said.

He screens all people who want to adopt.

“You get an idea when you’re talking with people how the animal is going to be treated,” he said

To adopt a kitten, puppy or adult animals from the Norwich Animal Control Shelter, there is a $5 fee. If the animal has already been neutered or spayed, there is no additional charge.

“If the animal is intact” and has not had the surgery yet, there is an additional $45 fee. New pet owners also receive a Connecticut Animal Population Control Program (APCP) Voucher, which subsidizes the cost of neutering/spaying surgery.

The shelter is located off Wilderness Road at 10 Park Center Road in Mohegan Park. For more information, call (860) 887-5747.

The shelter is accepting cat litter, towels, blankets, cat toys and Kong durable rubber dog toys that dogs cannot choke on or swallow.