The Knox County Humane Society, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1887, provides for the surrender, care, and adoption of homeless and abandoned cats and kittens in Knox County. Our cat shelter is located at 400 Columbus Road, Mount Vernon, Ohio. The main floor of the building includes a welcoming lobby and the primary adoption room. There, cats are housed in cat “condos”, each of wh
ich includes generous space for a litter box, food, and water, plus an upper level loft. There is plenty of room for each cat to lounge plus a more private retreat area. A kitten room, outfitted with toys, hiding places, and comfy beds for sleeping provides the perfect environment for kittens to romp and get acquainted. A large glass window allows visitors/adopters to watch the youngsters’ antics without disturbing them. If a visitor/potential adopter wishes to interact with a particular animal, a staff member will bring the cat to the bounding room where the two can get better acquainted. Also on the main floor of the shelter is the surgery suite where our veterinarian performs spay and neuter surgeries on cats and dogs. She operates on shelter cats and also pets owned by private citizens (call for more details). In 2013 and 2014, we spayed or neutered over 3600 cats as part of our efforts to reduce pet overpopulation in Knox County. The lower level of our building is generally off-limits to the public. There we have an intake room where new arrivals stay in quarantine for several days and a nursery to accommodate mothers and their very young kittens. Our highly dedicated staff follows daily cleaning regimens approved by the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and the Association of Shelter Veterinarians. They keep track of the health of each cat and take time to socialize with it every day. Frequently, the Knox County Humane Society is confused with the Knox County Animal Shelter, which happens to be located at 285 Columbus Road, just a short distance from the KCHS shelter. While the Animal Shelter is administered and funded by the Knox County Commissioners, the Knox County Humane Society is completely independent of the county administration, and dependent on memberships, donations, and grants for its support. Also, KCHS does not have any jurisdiction over cases of animal cruelty or instances of animals running at large. Those duties are the responsibility of the Dog Warden and the Humane Officer, both of whom are on the Animal Shelter staff.
