Signs on the doors of the Simply Cats cageless, no-kill animal shelter implore people to not abandon their cats there. There is no room at the inn.

The shelter at 2833 S. Victory View Way in Boise was built to house 100 cats, but hard times have pushed the population to nearly twice that at times in recent weeks, forcing the shelter to stop accepting cats temporarily.

As the Treasure Valley economy has slowed and people have lost jobs and homes, some have had to decide whether to buy food for the table or food for their pets. Simply Cats is feeding and sheltering the cats some people have left behind and providing free cat food for other families struggling to keep theirs.

"We are hearing more and more from people who can't keep their cats," said Lynn Melton, who has volunteered her time at the shelter for the past year. "Many can't afford to feed them. I deal with the phone calls, and I can hear the heartbreak. And it's not just women who I talk to who are almost in tears."

Other shelters, including the Idaho Humane Society and the Meridian Animal Shelter, are getting more cats and dogs, too.

"I've seen lots of people giving up dogs - the Meridian shelter houses dogs only - because they are moving from houses into apartments that don't allow pets," said Debbie Brownell, the Meridian shelter's adoption coordinator.

Inside Simply Cats, light streams through windows lining the vaulted ceiling of the welcoming lobby. Along the walls, glass doors open into boarding rooms where cats stretch out on fluffy bedding, curl atop scratching posts and wander onto fenced patios to stare at birds pecking at feeders on the other side of the wire.

Volunteers busily empty litter boxes and scrub floors. Cats rub against their ankles in a contented manner that belies the growing problems the shelter faces.

"We had one case that just broke our hearts," Melton said. "These children, who were about 6 years old, had been taken from their mother and were living with their grandfather. They had been taken out in some emergency. They had no clothes, no toys, just their cats. The grandfather was very strapped for cash and couldn't afford to feed the animals."

The shelter sterilized the pets at no cost and provided the family with cat food from its food bank.

Simply Cats is a private, nonprofit shelter run entirely on donations from the public. Animals in its care live in open spaces, not cages or kennels, and are not euthanized except to end suffering from illness or injury. The shelter opened in May 2007.

Executive Director Sheri Schneider said four people came the first day the shelter opened its cat-food bank in October. Less than two months later, the shelter is serving about 40 families.

The cat-food bank provides a family enough food to feed four cats for a month at a time.

Melton, who is retired and has volunteered at the shelter for the past year, said many times she can provide enough advice or resources that people no longer feel they have to abandon their pets.

"Many are absolutely thrilled to discover there are some options - that they don't have to get rid of their cat," she said.

"Sometimes all they need is a little relief. When things are going really badly, the idea of giving up an animal that you are really attached to is about the last thing you want to deal with."

Some people take home cats from the shelter only to find they can't afford to care for them. One such man called Monday after losing his job, Schneider said. Simply Cats took back the cat and promised to care for it until his situation improves.

"He said, 'It's my daughter's cat, and I don't want her to have to go through that (losing the cat), but I need a couple months to get on my feet,'" Schneider said. "He was so concerned that his daughter not have to suffer because of his situation, and he's already feeling such stress, I really feel for him. As long as he keeps us updated, we won't adopt the cat out."

Simply Cats has an annual budget of $350,000. Much of the money goes for veterinary care, vaccines and microchips for the cats. A vet is on call and visits once a week.

"They are ours until they are adopted or until they live out their lives," Schneider said. "We were on track to adopt 400 cats this year, but that fell off, along with donations this summer."

Brad Talbutt: 672-6737