If you've been doom-scrolling Zillow listings you can't afford, might we suggest a healthier coping mechanism? Go adopt a cat. Or a dog. Or, if you're feeling particularly reckless with your newfound emotional availability, both.

Petco Sunnyvale is hosting an adoption event featuring kittens, adult cats, and dogs from Copper's Dream Rescue. The details are simple: show up at 160 E El Camino Real in Sunnyvale between 10am and 2pm, meet some animals who desperately need homes, and potentially walk out with a new best friend who will never once ask you to explain your political views at Thanksgiving.

Here's the fiscal conservative case for adoption, since we can't help ourselves: buying from a breeder can run you $1,000 to $3,000+. Adoption fees? Usually a fraction of that, and the animals typically come spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped. That's a better deal than anything the government has ever offered you, and nobody had to raise your taxes to make it happen.

The Bay Area's shelter system is perpetually overcrowded, and every adoption frees up space and resources for the next animal in need. It's one of those rare situations where doing the right thing also happens to be the cheapest option — a combination we don't see nearly enough of around here.

You can preview available cats and kittens at bayareacats.org/adopt before you go, which is both practical and dangerous. Fair warning: once you start looking at kitten photos, your productivity for the rest of the day is effectively zero.

Whether you're a first-time pet owner or adding to your growing menagerie, this is a low-pressure way to meet some animals and maybe — just maybe — let something good happen on a Saturday morning. No bureaucracy required.