VIDEO: Happy Sweet 16, MEOW Cat Rescue!

Today, Feb. 19, the almost all volunteer-run MEOW Cat Shelter and Rescue reaches a milestone. It's been operating for 16 years this month.

To celebrate MEOW Cat's sweet 16 and highlight some of the work it does, MarDee Productions produced a video that is sure to tug at the heartstrings of cat lovers.

The nonprofit suggests some ways supporters can help celebrate the milestone on its website:

Mercer Island Eastside Orphans & Waifs (MEOW), was born 16 years ago today, February 19th!

Because of friends like you, more than 18,000 cats and dogs have been adopted into loving homes. Want to wish us a Happy Sweet 16 with a gift?

Here are a few ideas!

Stop by the shelter and drop off your gift, order it online on amazon.com and have it delivered, or make a donation via paypal.com.

In a Marilyn Hendrickson, who handles donor recognition for the organization, said MEOW Cat houses as many as 400 cats during the height of “kitten season,” but there are lots of cats and kittens who need homes all year round.

“I have foster cats 365 days a year,” Hendrickson says. Hendrickson also writes a blog for Patch's Local Voices. 

It’s the dedication of volunteers such as Hendrickson, who volunteers full time for the shelter, that allows MEOW Cat in Kirkland, and Motley Zoo rescue in nearby Redmond, to help so many animals. Hendrickson says that MEOW Cat has a couple of paid employees but is 99.5 percent volunteer based.

“Money that might be used to pay us can go to vet bills,” and care for the animals, she says. The shelter holds several fundraisers throughout the year, including a wine tasting fundraiser called “Sips for Snips." Hendrickson says every animal (MEOW Cat has a dog division, too) that comes through MEOW Cat is altered, dewormed, vaccinated and microchipped. Since MEOW Cat is a no-kill shelter, the animals can be in the shelter or a foster home for anywhere from an hour to a year.

Happy Birthday, MEOW Cat!