As Gwinnett County’s Jail Cats program approaches its one year anniversary, nearly two dozen kittens have been saved and perhaps just as many lives of female inmates have been touched.

The program, which takes in both kittens and older cats from Gwinnett Animal Control that might otherwise be euthanized, was started last October after the county’s Jail Dogs program for male inmates was started in 2010.

“They get socialized really well because they have a lot of different people picking them up and playing with them and there’s a lot of other cats, so they do well with other cats,” says Deputy Stephanie Martinez-Peres, coordinator for Operation Second Chance.

She says the cats are tested for feline leukemia and AIDS, spade or neutered, and vaccinated.  They are available for adoption by the public for a $100 fee.

Jennifer Horne is one of a dozen cat handlers who gets to have her kitten, Silas, share her cell complete with litter box, bed, and food.

“I’ve learned a lot just being around them the two-and-a-half months I’ve been here,” she tells WSB’s Sandra Parrish.  “Mostly when they come in they’re scared… they’re wondering what’s happened to them just like we have.”

Horne has a cat back home that looks like Silas--one she used to be scared of.

“Now I love cats; it’s great,” she says.

Martinez-Peres says it’s been a morale booster for the inmates who must apply for the program, have a work detail, and stay out of trouble.

“They seem to get along a little better in here because they have something to focus on other than the problems in the unit… they actually laugh and stuff because it’s hard not to laugh at the kittens,” she says.

The inmates are allowed to adopt their cats free of charge once they get out if they show proof of employment and a stable place to live.  So far three inmates have done so.

The women who remain admit it’s difficult when their little friends do get adopted by the public before they can do so themselves.

“It’s kind of hard because you get to be attached to them and then they’re just like gone; but it’s good for them to have a home to go to,” says inmate Bailey Knott.

The program is funded through donations from the public and support from the Society of Humane Friends which also started the Jail Dogs program.  Everything from the litter and food to toys and scratching posts are of no cost to the taxpayers.

Anyone interested in adopting a cat or dog through the program can learn more at jaildogs.org