NORWAY — To mark Be Kind to Animals Week from May 1-7, Responsible Pet Care, a feline shelter and adoption center in Norway, will be celebrating by featuring its long-term residents during the week and having an open house on Saturday.

Shelter manager Lucille Larsen reports that the shelter has several cats that have been there for over a year. One cat, Concho, has been living at Responsible Pet Care since her arrival in 2004. Another cat, Wendy, has been there since 2006.

“Every cat deserves a home,” says Larsen. “Many of our long-term cats are very nice cats that just get overlooked by people that come to adopt.”

During the week-long celebration there will be a special adoption fee for the cats that have been at the shelter the longest. The shelter hopes that this small incentive will get people to take a closer look at those cats and consider giving them a forever home.

Over the past two years Responsible Pet Care has found homes for 777 cats and kittens. They have taken in 782 stray, abandoned and owner-surrendered cats from Oxford County. With the closing of the Allen Hill Shelter in Oxford, RPC expects to be busier than ever. They are also investigating places to hold the stray dogs that were previously taken to Allen Hill.

Donations of Purina cat and kitten chow, canned pate food, nonclumping clay litter, bleach and money help the shelter with the high cost of caring for the cats and kittens until they are placed into homes.

Anyone who wishes to visit with the cats can go to the shelter during the week or on their open house day, Saturday, May 7. The shelter, located at 132 Waterford Road, is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from noon until 4 p.m. Many of the adoptable cats can be seen online on their website at www.rpc.petfinder.com. Information about the adoption process can also be found on the website.