A new drive is under way to feed the homeless dogs and cats, that is.

Cats and dogs at the local animal shelter will benefit from the drive, which began Tuesday.

Patterned after one held over the Christmas season, the Schnucks store at 19 S. Kingshighway is serving as a collection point for dog and cat food, and cat litter.

The drive will extend over the winter months and maybe year-round, said Schnucks manager Dennis Marchi.

He said Schnucks wanted to help out because the local shelter is "in dire need" of such supplies.

Nancy Richards, administrator of the animal shelter for the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri, said the Cape Girardeau facility is in need of pet food.

Over the Christmas season, the animal shelter benefited from donations of dog and cat food and cat litter collected in containers placed at four Cape Girardeau grocery stores, including Schnucks.

Richards estimated that the three-week drive netted over 300 bags of dog food, plus numerous cans of pet food and bags of cat litter.

"We were desperate," she recalled.

In the past, the animal shelter had received donations of pet food from food suppliers. In addition, the shelter received food from the Carbondale, Ill., shelter in exchange for cat litter.

But Richards said the shelter was unable to secure such sources of food much of last year.

"It seems like food supplies basically ran out," she said. As a result, the Cape Girardeau shelter had to purchase much of its food for four or five months last year.

"Of course, a lot of our members would bring food in if we needed it," said Richards. The local humane society has about 200 members.

"Still, we were having to purchase food when we were not used to purchasing food.

"It's not cheap when you are feeding 45 dogs and 30 to 35 cats every day," she observed.

Richards estimated the shelter goes through 25 pounds of dog food and 8 pounds of cat food daily.

That adds up to a big food bill at the shelter. If the shelter were to buy all its food, it would cost about $350 to $400 a month, Richards said.

So donations of pet food are greatly appreciated, she said. "People have no concept of what one bag of dog food can do for us."

Normally, the shelter's peak times are in the summer and fall. But in 1992, there was no slowdown, she said. "We are still seeing litters of puppies and kittens."

As with the Christmas drive, the new drive will help make ends meet without taxing the humane society's budget, Richards said.

"It truly has been a blessing for us to go as long as we have," she said.