Tabitha sat in her cage on Saturday, the one nestled between Bob and Isis and just above Foggy and Maxx and Sela.

On Sunday, she left the Mower County Humane Society and isn’t expected to return.

But that’s good news for the 9-year-old domestic short hair cat.

She was adopted by a Lakeville couple and is now roaming around their two-story house.

Prior to Sunday, she had resided at the humane society longer than any other animal.

She came there in May of 2004.

“We just feel so great about it because I just think about her sitting there year after year,” said Robin Hanson, Tabitha’s new owner. “She’s already purring away and lays on her back, exposing her belly to be rubbed.”

Robin said that together with her husband, Rob, the couple owns rental property in Austin. She was helping a renter find a lost dog when she saw Tabitha’s photo on the humane society’s Web site.

Robin then paid a visit to Tabitha last weekend to make the decision final.

“It was so sad,” she said. “There were just so many cats in there.”

Tabitha would come with controllable blood issues and would need special food, but that was OK with Robin.

“We couldn’t leave her there anymore,” she said. “We couldn’t believe no one had adopted her.”

And it just so happens that Tabitha was adopted by two people who have strong Austin ties and who went to the Austin High junior/senior prom together.

“The same doctor also delivered us,” Robin said.

Employees at the humane society are thrilled about Tabitha’s adoption.

“We’re very, very happy about it because she deserves a home,” said Jane Roden, president of the no-kill humane society.

Robin said Tabitha is running around her new home like a kid in the candy store and encouraged pet lovers to adopt an animal that has been at the shelter a long time.

“I think that’s exactly what they should do,” she said.