Maise Ms. May Lonely Heart

Week after week they watch visitors come and go, hoping this time someone will notice them. Maybe they greet you as you walk in the front door, or perhaps they watch from behind the door or from a high perch in the next room. They are the discarded pets and the homeless strays; the forgotten cats in the "Lonely Hearts Club."

The cats in the Lonely Hearts Club have been at the Knox County Humane Society Animal Shelter for more than six months; some have been waiting for more than two years! They watch visitors fuss over the playful kittens, remembering that they were kittens not so long ago. Some were kittens when they arrived at the shelter and grew up inside these walls.

Every once in a while there is hope! Some members in the first Lonely Hearts Club found new homes during the Be Kind to Animals Adoptathon, which took place on Saturday, May 3rd, 2003. That was the day Penny and Pepper went to live with Gary and Shirley Hannahs, owner/operators of the Teddy Bear Hugs Child Care in Fredericktown, Ohio. Penny had lived at the cat shelter since June 2002 and Pepper had been waiting for her own home since the previous November. Now they are part of a "Kitty Project" intended to teach kindness and gentleness to two- and three-year-olds.

Another long-time resident, Snuggles, went to her new home the same day. She had lived at the shelter for nine months. Charis, a cat who lived at the shelter for more than two years, went to his new home a week later!

While this is good news for these lucky cats, there are many members of the Lonely Hearts Club still waiting for a second chance. To see these cats, go to "Cats to Adopt".