Our History In the early 1990s, a small group of animal-loving friends made a commitment to create a better life for homeless animals. With little more than determination, they started Mercer Island Eastside Orphans and Waifs, now commonly called MEOW Cat Rescue & Adoption, a non-profit organization with a no-holds-barred no-kill philosophy. MEOW is still staffed almost entirely by volunteers. It’s still all about the animals. Today Since our beginning in 1997, MEOW has placed approximately 1000 animals into permanent homes annually. Donations from interested individuals, organizations and businesses provide financial support for this work. Adoption fees from $65 to $125 also help defray the cost of care for the animals. Our application process ensures that every adopted animal is placed in an environment where there is appropriate space, human contact, and a commitment to safeguard and care for the animal for its entire lifetime. Our standards are high. The welfare of the animals is paramount in the placement process. Cats and kittens come from various sources and situations: orphans found under a deck, an abandoned cat crying at the door, someone has developed allergies or is moving to a place where the cats are not welcome. Some come from the rescue community, finding tame homeless cats and kittens feeding with feral colonies. Newborn or senior, healthy, ill or injured, all are valued at MEOW. Incoming cats and kittens are examined for general health, illness, injury, parasites and tested for feline viral diseases and provided appropriate medical care. Daily care of cats and kittens is done both in the shelter and in the foster homes of volunteers, sometimes involving bottle-feeding orphans, often requiring intensive medical care of ill animals. MEOW provides a safe haven and socialization as well as proper nutrition and a clean environment while the animals await adoptive homes. Our volunteers speak with the public, interview prospective adopters, and provide education concerning the care of pets on such subjects as providing a rich environment for indoor-only cats, the benefits of spaying/neutering and microchipping, introducing a new pet into the family, addressing behavioral issues, proper daily care and well-cat/kitten care. Each year MEOW is faced with the impossible and each and every day we recommit ourselves to something in which we truly believe, the motto we adopted at our inception, ”all nine lives are precious”.
