Two of the organization’s goals are to provide a cage-free, no-kill shelter for rescued animals where they can experience the best care in a loving environment until they are adopted, and to find permanent, loving, homes for its rescued animals. Relying on a network of volunteers and numerous donations, Furkids has rescued and altered more than 5,000 homeless animals and placed them into happy homes.

True to that goal, Furkids recently sent one of its homeless animals to a loving, permanent home. This animal is really special: Millie, a 12 to14-year-old brown tabby cat, was the shelter’s longest resident, having lived with Furkids since 2003.

Six weeks ago, Millie went to a new home in Social Circle . She was adopted by Monica,  a Furkids volunteer who already shares her home with two cats and a dog. Monica, who works as a volunteer coordinator at Abbey Hospice, wasn’t looking to adopt a pet. But as a Furkids volunteer, she regularly checks the Web site to see which animals have been adopted since her last visit. www.furkids.org http://www.furkids.org/ .

Monica noticed the profile for Millie, a quiet, older cat with health problems. Many of the cats at the shelter are vocal and active, begging for attention and eager to play, but Millie was quiet, rarely leaving her bed. She never tried to get Monica’s attention. "She was almost like a familiar piece of furniture you keep walking past but never saw," Monica said.

As Monica read the Web site, she read the Millie had been at the shelter for six years and was beginning to show signs of kidney failure. "The information tugged at my heartstrings, and I thought she didn’t deserve to spend the balance of her life in the shelter, even a cage-free, no-kill shelter," Monica said.

And so Millie made the 48-mile trip from the Furkids shelter in Atlanta to Monica’s home in Social Circle . After just three weeks, Millie found her feline social circle with Monica, finding the best napping places in the house and making friends with the other cats and the dog.

"Millie really is sweet. She likes to sit on my lap and have her head scratched. But she is very quiet," notes Monica. "She follows me around the house and climbs in my lap when I sit down. And when I work at the computer, she tries to walk on the keyboard!"

Furkids estimates that Millie is 12 to 14 years old, but according to Monica, she acts like an older cat. "You can tell she’s not 100 percent healthy," Monica said. Because Millie’s kidneys are failing and she has arthritis, Monica gives Millie fluids and arthritis medicine along with a warm, soft place to nap. The therapies are having a positive effect, but they won’t last forever.

Monica doesn’t know how much longer Millie will live, but she is determined to give the cat a happy home life for as much time as she has. Without Furkids, Millie no doubt would have died a long time ago. "Millie got great care at the shelter, but here, she is in my home and she gets a personal touch," she said.

Furkids note

: Furkids needs donations, adopters and volunteers. Even when the 200 current shelter residents and some 200 in foster homes and PetSmart and PETCO locations are placed into permanent homes, there will be more homeless animals to take their places. The economy has driven more animals into the shelter while donations have fallen dramatically. During the summer, Furkids took in 60 new cats that were left at the front door. It even took in a kitten that someone had left in a box on a shelf at one of the PetSmart stores where Furkids runs the adoption centers. More information is available at