Longtime animal shelter cat finds home for Christmas

This is all pretty new for Claude.

Earlier this month, he was just another whiskered face in the crowd -- perhaps a little more grizzled than the rest -- at Anderson Animal Shelter in South Elgin.

Now Claude has a new home for the holidays. And the folks over at the animal shelter couldn't be happier.

"Apparently he's doing really well," said Michelle Groeper, the shelter's director of operations. "It made our entire day. It made our entire week and month. It's one of those great stories that makes me love my job."

Life hasn't always been so rosy for the big domestic shorthair.

Claude was just a kitten when he was dropped off at the shelter in 2004, just days before Christmas.

"He was friendly but shy," Groeper said. "Honestly, he's been kind of overlooked. He really got lost in the shuffle."

It's pretty easy to get left behind at the animal shelter, what with 160 or more feline friends all vying for the attention of prospective new owners.

And it certainly didn't help that Claude is a black cat. You know what they say about black cats.

"Some people are still superstitious in this day and age," Groeper said, "as ridiculous as that sounds."

So Claude spent Christmas 2004 at the shelter. And Christmas 2005. And Christmas 2006.

By the time November 2007 rolled around, Claude had been at the shelter longer than any of the other cats.

And that's when his luck changed.

The shelter staff decided to name him pet of the month. And a local teacher took notice.

"I saw Claude in the paper," said Robin Youse, a special-education teacher in Elgin Area School District U-46. "I tried to get him out of my mind, but I was just shocked and appalled that any animal would have to live in a shelter for three years."

The rest, as they say, is history.

Youse stopped by the shelter, filled out the necessary paperwork and -- after Claude got over a winter kitty cold -- took him home.

Claude is still camera shy in his new home, so all you get is his mugshot from the shelter.

But Youse says he's getting used to his new digs.

"Claude is still adjusting," she said. "He's been here eight days. Been in the shelter three years. He spends a great deal of time in a corner of a room, a place he feels safe. But we'll be fine."

Claude's brothers and sisters back at the animal shelter could use some help, however.

If you're interested in adopting a pet, you can call the shelter at (847) 697-2880.

If you adopt this holiday season, you can get $100 off the adoption fee.

That means for $50, you'll get a new friend, all of his or her vaccinations, spaying or neutering, a microchip in case your pet wanders off, a free veterinarian visit, a leash and a carrying case.