On average up to 60 cats and kittens are dropped off at the Lawrence County Animal Shelter each month. With that statistic volunteers have seen for some time the severe need for a separate shelter for their feline visitors.

That’s why the Friends of the Lawrence County Animal Shelter have as a New Year’s goal to raise funds to pay for a prefabricated building to house the unwanted cats.

“We do pretty good on adopting at least 50 percent of the kittens,” Melissa Nicely, shelter volunteer, said.

Then the rest of the kittens typically go to rescue. Besides offering a temporary shelter before the rescue organizations can pick them up, however, the shelter also needs a quarantine space for those older cats who have picked up a diseases like upper respiratory and eye infections.

“It’s contagious,” Nicely said. “Once they get it, if we can’t get the medicine and a place to keep them quarantined, the other cats will get it. We end up having to put them to sleep. We try not to.”

What the shelter friends are wanting is a 12-by-24 building that can be erected next to the present shelter. They need $600 for a down payment with the remaining $4,800 paid $200 a month for 24 months.

“If we can find 20 people who will pledge $10 a month for 24 months,” Nicely said.

The friends would also like to set up a table at a local business to take donations.

“We are so short-handed here,” Nicely said. “We would love to get a couple of volunteers to set up a donation table.”

Anyone wishing to help can contact Nicely at the shelter at 740-533-1736 or send a donation via paypal account at folcrescue@gmail.com or drop off a check at the shelter at 1302 Adams Lane.