Community Corner

Seven Sun Inn Cats Need New Homes

Historic building handyman sheltered homeless felines on Main Street; now they must go.

For the last few years, Larry Miller has operated an unofficial shelter for homeless cats in an underused building on the east side of Main Street, just south of the historic .

Every day, the handy man from Allentown, who works part-time for the Sun Inn Preservation Association, returns to feed and otherwise care for the cats, with some occasional financial help from local animal welfare organizations.

But the association has new plans to use the building and Miller is being asked to have the cats removed by the end of July. With the help of , an organization that works to prevent the euthanasia of homeless animals, Miller is looking to find loving homes for seven adult cats.

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A week ago, there were 11 cats, but No Kill Lehigh Valley took away four to place with no-kill shelters at Peaceable Kingdom and the Center for Animal Health and Welfare.

Frankly, Miller said, there isn’t enough room in local shelters right now to house them all. He is hoping some more cats get adopted soon to clear up room for more of his cats, but what he would really like is for them to get good permanent homes.

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“They need and deserve a better home,” he said.

Jennifer Evans, from No Kill Lehigh Valley, who has personally assessed the cats living situation, said the cats have been well cared for.

“All of the cats are healthy and friendly,” she wrote in an e-mail. “Larry is a very kind-hearted person that has adopted these cats and made sure they have had veterinary care and have been fixed.”

A visit with Miller in the building with the cats reveals that he has affection for all of them. He talks to them and can tell you about their behavior.

Freight Train, for example, is a black cat with the boldest disposition. He is usually the first to check out a new human visitor. He was named because of the way he bowled the other kittens out of the way at feeding time.

Miller rescued all of the felines from a pallet yard in Stewartsville, N.J. where he also works. Feral cats are used there to control pests, though he took these cats away to Bethlehem as kittens.

All are about two years old. Five of them – Freight Train, Puddy Tat, Norton, Nina and June Bug – are black, though a couple have some white markings, particularly Nina. There is also Sox, a brown tabby with some white, and Peachy, a gray tabby.


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