In 1997, two women who loved animals founded Mercer Island Orphans and Waifs in a single room in a pet grocery store. Over twenty years later, this shelter—better known as MEOW Cat Rescue—is responsible for saving 800 to 1,000 cats and 30 to 50 dogs each year.
And on October 13, MEOW is encouraging everyone to support their work by participating in the CAT Run in Marymoor Park. The CAT run, which actually stands for Covering All-Terrain Running, benefits MEOW and the work that they do all year.
To find out more, we talked to Joni Cervenka, who is the Board President of MEOW and an adopter of six MEOW cats and one MEOW foster fail dog.
JC: The founder of the CAT Run, Denise Brunet, adopted two cats from MEOW years ago. And she wanted to start an organization that combined her love of running with her love of animals. She organizes runs for different charities, and so five years ago, she organized the first run to benefit MEOW Cat Rescue.
It’s a 5K run, which is a great length for families, walkers and beginning runners. The run is held in Marymoor Park every year, and we get people with jogging strollers and dogs all coming out to support MEOW. We also get a lot of people who dress up in cat ears, cat tights and other cat costumes, so it’s a lot of fun for a lot of people.
I do want to mention, it is an official timed race with racing bibs. So, there are excellent runners who race to beat their personal best times or win the race. We also auction off the first two starting positions at an event earlier in the year.
I’d also like to mention that the Mercer Island National Charity League also helps us with this event. This group has mom and daughter pairs donate their time to different charities. They help staff our auctions, they bake and create handcrafts for our annual Holiday Bazaar and Bake Sale. This year there will be five pairs of moms and daughters volunteering and cheering participants at the CAT Running event. We love them, and we just love this partnership.
JC: The race starts at 9:00 a.m., so we recommend people come at 8:00 a.m. so they can find parking and get ready to run or walk. Marymoor Park has paid parking for a $1 charge, but we encourage carpooling to make sure everyone has a spot to park!
People who haven’t had a chance to sign up or pick up their racing packet should come to Marymoor Park at 7:00 a.m. to make sure they have enough time to complete the paperwork before the race.
It’s easiest to sign up before the race through Active.com. Right now, as of last Thursday, we have 124 runners signed up, and we expect plenty more.
JC: We’ve pioneered a few programs that make us unique from a lot of other rescues in the area. For one thing, we make a promise that we’ll accept any animal we adopt back into our shelter for any reason. So, if someone adopts from us, but they can’t take care of the animal for any reason, we’ll welcome that animal back and give him the second chance he or she deserves. That’s just the commitment we make to all our animals.
MEOW Cat Rescue also doesn’t shy away from harder-to-adopt cats, ill cats or old cats. We often get calls from veterinarians who have a cat that has been surrendered to them, and we’ll agree to take that cat. For this reason, our shelter’s often full. We’re also a no-kill shelter, so when a cat comes to stay with us, they’re going to stay with us until they’re adopted.
Approximately a year ago, we launched our Ninth Life division. It’s a long-term foster arrangement for cats with serious illnesses or other barriers to finding an adoptive home. This program allows the cat to live in a foster home for the rest of her life. These cats are still available for adoption, but the program gives these cats a happy life outside of our shelter.
We’re also big proponents of spay and neuter to end the pet overpopulation problem. And MEOW has a program where we issue no-cost spay/neuter vouchers. So, if someone needs a little financial help to get their dog or cat spayed or neutered, MEOW can help with that. We run the program year-round for people who need it.
JC: Absolutely! We have events throughout the year for people interested in supporting MEOW Cat Rescue. Also, we’re always looking for people willing to volunteer on an ongoing basis. We’re always looking for foster volunteers, as well as people to fulfill various roles at our Kirkland shelter.
We’re also grateful for any type of donation. We accept cash donations on our website, but we also have an Amazon wishlist if people would prefer to buy an item for MEOW Cat Rescue in general. We’re a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so every gift is tax-deductible.
JC: We have an event next Thursday, October 4th, at Reuben’s Brews as part of their Thank You Thursdays program. People who’d like to support us can visit Reuben’s Brews on 5010 14th Ave. NW in Seattle, and for every pint you buy from noon until close, Reuben’s Brews will donate a dollar. MEOW Cat Rescue will also have cats to cuddle at Reuben’s Brews from noon until 3:00 p.m.
We also have our holiday bazaar on December 1, and other events throughout the year, so people can follow us on Facebook for more information about upcoming events. Our tagline is: All Nine Lives Are Precious, and without community support, we wouldn’t be able to do the work we do. ***
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