( CNN ) -- Thanks to dedicated people like Bob and Katherine Rude , many homeless animals in Maryland will have a warm home this winter . Bob and Katherine Rude run an animal shelter out of their home in Harwood , Maryland . The Maryland couple currently cares for 116 cats and six dogs at Rude Ranch Animal Rescue , which they run out of their home in Harwood . `` We take in a lot of abused and neglected animals ; animals that for whatever reason find themselves down on their luck , '' Katherine said . It all started a decade ago when the couple found a group of cats in an alley behind a restaurant . They began working with other organizations to help place the cats , but quickly realized that they could do more . See how 100 cats live in one house » . `` The more we got involved , and the more we found out about the world of animal rescue , the more we found out there was a lot more need . ... We felt we could fill a void , '' Katherine said . A few years later , they bought a ranch house in Harwood and converted it into a shelter . Eventually , Bob and Katherine left their government jobs to work at the shelter full time . They now work seven days a week , morning through night , caring for their cats and dogs . `` Now we 're doing adoptions , we 're doing search and rescue , we 're helping people out with spay and neuters , and we 're helping out other animal controls with animals that they ca n't place , but think deserve a shot at a life , '' Katherine said . The Rudes originally planned on keeping the shelter on one floor , and living in the rest of the house . But they quickly found that many of the cats required full-time care , so they expanded the shelter throughout their home . `` We still have a bedroom that 's sort of ours , but we share it with a bunch of special-needs animals . We have anywhere from two or three dogs and 10 to 12 cats that share a bed with us , '' Bob says . The extra space has allowed the Rudes to take in cats that most shelters can not . Cats that require special attention or medical care -- those that have been abused or are suffering from feline immunodeficiency virus , for example -- all have a place at the ranch . Katherine says this was one reason they started their own shelter . `` It was for ... the ones that maybe do n't have an alternative , do n't have somewhere else to go . We figured they had as much of a chance at a life as someone else , '' she said . Working with the animals is incredibly rewarding , Bob says , but expanding the shelter has also increased the number of mouths to feed . `` For the evening meal , we go through about 25 cans of cat food . For the whole day , we go through about 40-50 . ... We go through about 100 pounds of dry food a week for the cats , [ and ] 10,000 pounds of cat litter a year , '' Bob said . Even buying in bulk has n't helped the Rudes escape the financial woes that have begun to plague most business owners . Katherine says that so far , they have been able to support themselves but are concerned about rising costs and falling donations . At the same time , demand for the Rudes ' help is increasing . Higher costs of food and supplies , as well as the foreclosure crisis , have affected people 's ability to care for their pets , Katherine says . `` [ Pet ] adoptions have pretty much dropped off the face of the earth right now , but people are calling more and more to turn animals in , '' Bob said . And as more people turn to them to care for their pets , the Rudes have no plans to change their tune . Since 1997 , they have helped rescue or place more than 3,000 cats . Katherine estimates that they have helped make 2,500 to 2,700 adoptions to families or individuals . `` They 're getting a home , they 're going to have individual people doting on them , and that 's what we want for all of the residents here , '' Katherine says .
Maryland couple operates Rude Ranch Animal Rescue out of their home . Bob and Katherine Rude currently care for 116 cats and six dogs . The pair is concerned about rising costs , falling donations and more pets in need .