Thanks to you, our dedicated donors, GiveBIG day 1 is off to a great start. As of 11 am we have raised $5,800 in support of our foster programs and our amazing foster families. Our Ninth Life program is near and dear to so many as is Stevie Wonderpurr.

Meet Stevie Wonderpurr

Stevie Wonderpurr is one of MEOW’s Ninth Life kitties. Because of his ongoing health issues, he will most likely remain in his foster home for his entire life, with MEOW providing for medical expenses and his family providing all the love and attention he deserves.

Stevie Wonderpurr was found on the side of the road at 5 weeks old. He was severely malnourished, and upon intake it was discovered that he was also blind. Stevie was placed into foster to get healthy, but soon began to have seizures. After some intense bouts of seizures, he finally was stabilized with two different medications given to him 4x each day.

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A GiveBIG good morning to you! Thanks to our early giving donors and our early risers, we have raised $3,118 in support of our foster programs and our amazing foster families.

Although some days it still feels like winter in Seattle, the number of calls about mama cats with babies is letting us know that spring has indeed sprung. During the height of the pandemic, spay and neuter surgeries were suspended. Although clinics are once again performing those surgeries, the demand is much higher than the availability. We anticipate seeing more kittens in the next several years than we’ve seen in recent prior years.

Luckily, we have foster families who can welcome a mom cat and her babies into their homes. Although tending young is instinctual, some of these mamas are barely out of kittenhood themselves. They often need support to keep their babies fed, clean, and healthy. It can be a tiresome and messy job sometimes. But these little precious ones have a way of squirming their way into their fosters’ hearts, making the day when they are ready for their forever home, bittersweet.

Meet Nom Nom and her babies (Oreo, Nutella, Noodles, and Potsticker).

Just two weeks ago this mama cat (Nom Nom) and her babies (Oreo, Nutella, Noodles, and Potsticker) were relinquished by a woman who had 10 other cats in a two-bedroom apartment. Through the years she’d considered getting her cats altered but didn’t. Pretty quickly the numbers were too big to handle.

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Thank you to everyone who made giveBIG 2022 a huge success raising over $46,000! As we say goodnight, we are so grateful for the support of so many, for all the right reasons! These funds will help ensure that we will be there for those who need us most, and continue to make good matches and build happy families.

MEOW is not a large shelter, nor do we have a large staff. That’s just fine with us. We appreciate being able to focus on each and every cat, the cute kittens, the rambunctious teen kitties, the young adults and the seniors, those with special medical needs, and those with special behavioral or emotional needs.

We make a lifetime commitment to each and every one, if ever they should need to be rehomed. Making good matches, building happy families, is our goal.

Meet Siskel & Ebert

These handsome 10-month-old boys came to us from a home with way too many cats. Not too much of a story there. They were with us for a short time before they found their forever family earlier this month. 

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Thank you to everyone who donated over the past few days. As of 10:30 pm this evening, we, thanks to you, achieved and actually surpassed our ambitious goal of $40,000. We have now raised over $45,000 for the animals! Of course, we’ll be online until midnight, so if you haven’t donated yet, there is still time. These funds will help ensure that we will be there for those who need us most, including those who need extra attention, time,or understanding to be their best selves.

It’s not always an easy transition for a cat to lose his home or family and join us at the shelter. And sometimes cats come to us because they are having issues in their home. We are so fortunate to have wide in-house expertise as well as support from knowledgeable veterinarians to help determine an appropriate path to take with these animals to give them the best chance at finding their forever home and resolve issues or modify behavior so the cats can live their best lives. Change can require a good deal of time and effort on our part, and potentially the forever family as well. But we believe the commitment is worth it!

Meet Boots & Spunkie

Uncle Boots, a four-year-old tuxedo boy, and his niece Spunkie, a lovely three-year-old silky sleek black panther, recently came to MEOW after their previous owner lost her home. Both cats were understandably confused and a bit afraid after losing the only home they had ever known.

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Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. As of 5 pm this evening, we have raised $36,994. These funds will help ensure that we will be there for those who need us most, including the most vulnerable, the bottle babies.

We owe so much to our foster families, whose dedication and efforts allow us to accept those animals not ready for adoption. There is a small group of fosters who take that dedication to the next level by fostering the bottle babies.

The babies are so vulnerable, and the youngest ones need to be fed every two hours. Yes, it can be heartbreaking, but the sense of purpose it brings and the rewards when the bottle babies grow into rambunctious kittens can’t be matched.

Pakuk Gets Her Angel Wings

Late last month, a new litter was born in foster care. Very early, tiny Pakuk’s foster family noticed that the otherwise attentive mama cat wasn’t tending to little Pakuk. As it turned out, Pakuk was born with a severely cleft palate, which made nursing impossible. So, while mama tended to her other babies, Pakuk’s amazing rock star of a foster mom tube fed her, which is the only way she was able to get nourishment.

It was touch and go, and for a few weeks she’s proved true to her name, as Pakuk is an Inuit word for “fighter”. We knew it was going to be a tough road, but MEOW and especially Pakuk’s foster mom were going to do everything we could to give her the best chance possible.

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Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. As of 1 pm this afternoon, we have raised over $31,000 and our match funds have been fully utilized! These funds will help ensure that we will be there for the animals, including those with special needs.

MEOW is proud to offer special needs cats the care and treatment they need, until they are chosen by that special family.

Meet Cisco

Cisco was left behind when his family moved, and soon after his rescuer brought him to MEOW he was diagnosed with a neurological condition called hyperesthesia. Hyperesthesia in cats is an extreme sensitivity, almost always on the back, most often right in front of the tail. Some cats may become suddenly aggressive and bite. Their pupils may dilate, their skin may ripple, they may drool, vocalize, or even urinate, and may self-mutilate.

Thankfully, Cisco has never exhibited these behaviors. What his fosters did notice was that he frequently acted uncomfortable, turning his head quickly toward his tail with a soft growl, and sometimes biting at himself. When this happened, he could easily be distracted and calmed by a soft voice or a gentle touch. Although he was clearly in distress, never did Cisco redirect his agitation outwardly, toward people or animals.

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Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. As of 9 am this morning, we have raised $16,784. These funds will help ensure that we will be there for those who need us most, including the super seniors.

It fills our hearts with joy to offer older cats, who may not seem as adorable as kittens, a soft place to land for as long as they need to find the family who can really appreciate them.

Meet Archie

An elderly woman had been feeding this big homeless red tabby cat recently, but that clearly wasn’t the best life for him, So, one of our independent rescuers asked if we would take this sweet 7-year-old gentleman.

Most likely he has spent quite some time living on his own. His cauliflower ears are a result of serious, long term, untreated ear mite infection. Despite his odd profile, he is the most charming of cats. We’re certain that someone will find him handsome inside and out and make him their own soon. 

Certainly, we have a soft spot in our hearts for the senior cats, the ones that often get overlooked for adoption, especially during kitten season. Yes, it’s harder to find their forever home as they may have health issues or senior needs, but it’s our pleasure to help them to meet the families that will love and cherish them for their lifetime.  Our hearts are filled with joy when an adopter of senior cats lets us know it was just the right fit!

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Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. As of 8 pm this evening, we have raised $14,048. These funds will help ensure that we will be there for those who need us most, and continue to be able to provide opportunities for people to connect and volunteer.

We rely on our in-shelter volunteers to help keep the shelter running smoothly. Whether it’s feeding the kitties their supper, keeping their living spaces clean, doing laundry, answering phones, or making adoption matches, our volunteers are up for the task.

One of the highlights for in-shelter volunteers is being able to interact with the cats in our care. A family of cats we affectionately call “The Librarians” need daily playtime and lots of human interaction, which our volunteers happily provide. It truly is a win-win situation.

Meet the Librarians

Found fending for themselves near Tacoma, six kittens and a mother cat came to us, fearful and a bit unsocial, most likely due to being born outside with limited human contact. Once in foster care, they began learning about human kindness and they started trusting just a bit. Although several months have passed and they’re still somewhat tentative, the family is together at the shelter now, continuing to adjust to new people, sounds and circumstances.

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Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. As of 4 pm today, we have raised $11,550. These funds will help ensure that we will be there for those who need us most, and continue to be able to be a resource to pet owners in our community.

We are huge advocates of humane traps as one of the best ways to bring an escaped indoor cat back to safety.

We loan traps with a deposit, but no charge, and provide instructions and guidance on how best to use them. It’s not always successful but when it is, the relief and gratitude of the families we’ve aided is always a highlight of our day.

Meet Freyja, Magnus, Lars, Floki, and Lilja

Just last week a woman knocked on our shelter door with a cat in her arms and four kittens in a laundry basket. She had received this family from a homeless woman and had promised to find a safe place for them. 

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