The last 48 hours have been amazing and you have been amazingly generous. As we say goodnight and put GiveBIG 2024 to bed, we are awed and ever so grateful for your belief in what we do and our ability to take action due to your compassion.

Our GiveBIG 2024 total stands at $48,100, which means we’ll continue to be able to provide a soft place to land, a place to heal, a place to thrive, and hope of a day where no companion animal suffers abuse or is homeless.

From all of us, for all of them, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Thank You!

We consider ourselves so fortunate to be part of such a compassionate community. As of 12 PM, you, our supporters, have raised $32,000. We are so grateful for this support and believe that we have a role to play, to support our community, in the journey to end companion animal homelessness that extends beyond rescuing and placing animals for adoption.

Public Spay/Neuter Voucher Program

We strongly believe that spay/neuter is the way to end companion animal homelessness. Since 2011, we have offered free public spay/neuter vouchers, redeemable at several regional non-profit clinics, to low-income families in need of support to do the right thing for their pets.

Western Washington has a lower euthanasia rate than many other areas, so grant funds for spay/neuter, when available, are usually distributed elsewhere. But, based on the number of requests we receive daily, there is a still a serious need.

This was exacerbated by the pandemic, during which clinics were not allowed to perform elective surgeries so that the surgical equipment could be spared for human hospitals. A tremendous backlog resulted.

As GiveBIG day 1 winds down, we wanted to update you one more time and share our good news and heartfelt thanks. Throughout the day we received donations and kind words of support and encouragement. As of 10 PM we have raised $28,300!

Fostering, nurturing and nursing is a primary activity at MEOW. Thanks to your support, we can continue to give that support to the animals.

Fostering

Mama Luna, Valentino, Cupid & Amora

Sometimes, when we are asked to help someone who can no longer take care of their animals, all that is needed is a soft place to land. Thanks to our shelter staff and volunteers who provide care, feeding and human interaction to the shelter residents, and our fosters who provide care for those not ready for adoption, we are able to provide that gift.

That was the case when early in February a family reached out and asked us to accept their cats because they were moving and would not be able to keep them. They brought in a pregnant cat, three 10-week old kittens, and an 8-month old teenage kitten.

As this amazing day turns into what we hope is a great evening, we are honored and awed at the generosity of you, our supporters. As of 5 pm we have raised just over $11,000 and, we have a match challenge! If we can raise an additional $4,500 by midnight, we have a group of generous volunteers and donors who will match that, which will put us just over half way to our overall BIG GiveBIG goal of $40,000! Funds raised today helps ensure that we will continue to be there for life for the animals that come to MEOW in need.

Supporting Our Ninth Life Program

Lady Basil

A thin tortie had been hanging around and caught the attention of a kind woman, who made every attempt to find her owner in the neighborhood.  With the help of a rescue partner, the cat was discovered to have a microchip, but the information had not been kept up to date. She was truly homeless.

It’s impossible to know how long this 11-year old senior sweetheart might have been on the streets, on her own, trying to survive. Her teeth were in terrible condition. Her coat was coarse and patchy. Her lab results revealed hyperthyroidism, with numbers literally off the charts, above a recordable measurement. This extreme condition was causing hypertension as well as a heart condition called thyrotoxic cardiomyopathy.

The youngest ones who come to us are often the weakest and most fragile, requiring round-the-clock monitoring and care. Thankfully, this care usually results in healthy kittens ready to take on the world.

It was a BIG day of giving yesterday, and it continues today! As of 8 AM, 101 generous donors have raised $30,100 toward our overall goal of $40,000, which will allow us to continue to provide this type of care and allow cats like Teddy and Sadie to flourish.

Bottle Babies

Teddy and Sadie

Born in late January, Teddy and Sadie were an early signal that kitten season would soon be here in earnest. Their mom was one of many cats living in an apartment in Chehalis. A local rescuer offered assistance to get the situation under control. Could we help?

The 4-week-old babies were small and weak, with a heavy load of fleas and dirty ears, but they tested negative for the common intestinal parasites. Close veterinary supervision and experienced foster care was definitely needed.

As we head into the evening hours, we couldn’t be more thrilled with our results so far. As of 7 PM our supporters have stepped up once again and raised $37,500. These funds will allow us to be ready to support some amazing community members who are often on their own in the world of rescue.

Supporting Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR)

Yanni, Ryker & Borgen

MEOW has close relationships with several amazing, compassionate and dedicated souls who spend their days and often nights, as well as their own money, doing Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR).

Sometimes instead of being returned, the cats and kittens need to be removed, rehomed, and they are in desperate need of a soft place to land. We are here for the next step in their rescue, offering the medical and behavioral attention they will need to become ready for better lives.

This was the case for Ryker, Borgen and Yanni. Trapped at a house suspected of being involved in illegal drug activity, they were absolutely emaciated.

As of 4 PM, we have raised $34,500. This compassion will allow us to take action for not only the cats, but the dogs as well. At MEOW, we’re not just about the cats. We have a small but mighty dog division as well.

If you haven’t donated and would like to donate to support the dogs, when you enter your donation, select “Canine Division”. Your gift will allow us to continue to partner with other rescue organizations, helping when and where we can.

Partnering with other organizations

Jiggy

At 12 years old, Jiggy was living with his owner at a care facility until he became unwelcome there due to repeated complaints from residents and staff. Jiggy was constantly ravenous, barking to demand food and water, needing to relieve himself frequently.

Because his owner had no other options for personal care, Jiggy wound up at Everett Animal Shelter. When the vet there ran blood and urine labs on him, it became obvious what was causing his behavior. Jiggy is diabetic. His future at the shelter became very high risk. They reached out to Kelly, who runs MEOW’s Canine Division.

GiveBIG 2024 is winding down and the results have been amazing! We have surpassed our BIG goal and raised $41,100 thanks to 159 supporters who took action on their compassion. We’re hoping there are still a few folks out there who haven’t donated and are planning to, before the end of the day.

Together, we can take action and provide the necessary care and time for cats like Saba and Suki to move from being on their own and frightened to being safe and loved.

Providing medical and emotional support

Saba and Suki

Saba and sister Suki will celebrate their first birthday on MEOW’s auction day, June 22. Last November, at just four months old, the house where they were being fed was demolished and their lives were turned upside down.

Not only were they very distressed, they were sick with calicivirus, a very contagious and often painful illness. To make matters worse, a week later, Saba tested positive for ringworm as well.

Exciting News! As of 8 PM we have met our match challenge and raised $26,700 (including the match), which is more than half way to our two-day goal of $40,000!

Working together, we can provide soft places to land and second chances for cats like Sniezka.

Mercy Fund Beneficiaries

Sniezka

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, more than eight million people have become internally displaced, leaving their homes but remaining in their country, and another six million have had to flee to other countries. Countless displaced people were unable to take their pets.

Animal shelters in Ukraine are overflowing and pop-up shelters are doing their best to help. The beautiful city of Kherson, captured by Russia and reclaimed by Ukraine several months later, continues to experience shelling almost daily.

Among the residents being forced to seek safety was the family of a 12-year-old cat named Sniezka, which translates to Snowflake or Snowdrop (the flower). We have no information about her life prior to last summer when she was released into the care of a pop-up shelter in Lviv, but we can imagine the sorrow her people must have felt when saying their goodbyes. Sniezka has clearly been loved.

As of 12 PM, our amazing supporters have raised $6,350 for the animals of MEOW. Your compassion and generosity will allow us to take action for the animals, including those special seniors who deserve our very best efforts.

Welcoming Senior Cats

Antionette

At 11 years old, Antionette is a spunky senior. She was rescued from the streets by a Good Samaritan, but she didn’t get along with the other pets in the house. Additionally, as a result of an escape attempt, she had been attacked by an animal and her injuries required hip surgery.

Her owner, after seeing her through her surgery, sadly realized that this household wasn’t the best for Antoinette. She needed a happier place to land.

Thank you to everyone who donated early and early this morning during GiveBIG. As of 7 am we have raised $2,870. With your support we will continue to be able to help those in need.

Partnering with Others

Six-week-old kittens – 
Foxglove, Bluebell, Juniper, Trillium and Saskatoon

In animal rescue, we’re in this together, and kitten season is a time when we have each other on speed dial. Recently, another local rescue group contacted us asking for help with one of their SOS calls. A woman had befriended a pregnant cat who had then delivered a litter of kittens on her property, and she felt unable to care for them.

The local rescue organization wanted to help but did not have an available foster family.  Happily, a MEOW foster was ready and able. Mom Fern and her five six-week-old kittens, Foxglove, Bluebell, Juniper, Trillium and Saskatoon, arrived in pretty rough shape.

Give on May 7th or 8th, or give today. Whenever you give, you’ll be transforming your compassion into action for the animals!

At MEOW, we are proud and grateful that we can provide high quality of care to the animals who come to us in need of a soft place to land.

It’s certainly not uncommon for cats and kittens to arrive at the shelter carrying intestinal parasites, but Snap, Crackle, and Poppy brought one of the more persistent – cryptosporidium. It can cause diarrhea, fever, and inappetence. Untreated, it can lead to dehydration, weight loss, and much worse.