Carbon County Friends of Animals has a new home.

Over the weekend, volunteers of the nonprofit organization moved the 103 cats that currently call CCFOA home into their new location on the east side of Jim Thorpe in the former Carbon Career & Technical Institute adult education building.The building, which formerly housed CCTI's day care and GED instruction program, was put up for sale earlier this year after the day care was discontinued.The shelter is currently closed to visitors, as there is still much to be done at the new facility to get the cats settled in, according to Susie Yaich, co-founder of CCFOA.The shelter will reopen for business at 9 a.m. Friday."We love the new space," she said, pointing out that the cats have plenty of room to play, socialize and roam. "We've been looking for so long for something like this so for us, this is a dream come true."The new location at 77 W. 13th St. provides a lot more room to grow than the previous site, which had been rented from the Sebelin family.It boasts 6,800 square feet of space with enough room for three cat showrooms, an isolated infirmary, an intake room, nursery, meet and greet room, employee break room, a kitchen, cleaning room and plenty of storage space.One room, located in the front office area, will also be transformed into a gift shop chock-full of pet items and shirts.Yaich pointed out that all cat rooms have large windows to provide the cats with plenty of light during the day, and will help cut down on electricity costs."These rooms will cut down on the stress levels of the cats," she said, noting that before many of them had to be caged due to the lack of space. "This will help make them more adoptable."She thanked the volunteers who helped make the purchase of the building a reality, as well as those who helped with the renovations, specifically Ed Miller and his wife, Lois."We are really happy with the new building and want to be good neighbors," Yaich said. "We want to make this work so we will do whatever we can to support the area."CCFOA purchased the building from the Carbon County Area Vocational Technical School Authority in September, after submitting the sole bid of $260,105.The majority of the money $230,000 that was used in the purchase was raised through donations sent from area supporters; while the remaining $30,000 was taken from the organization's general operating fund."We are still seeking donations to help with the purchase," Yaich said.Anyone wishing to volunteer time, money or items to the shelter can do so by calling 570-325-9400 or mailing checks to 77 W. 13th St., Jim Thorpe PA 18229.