Passionate About Kitties? Volunteer at Kirkland's MEOW Cat Rescue!

Are you looking for a meaningful way to spend your time?  Are you passionate about animals?  Do you want to meet new and friendly people?  If so, MEOW Cat Rescue might be just the place for you!

Located in the Houghton area of Kirkland, MEOW is a gem of a shelter approaching it's 16th year in operation.  At MEOW, it's all about the animals and you can be a part of that.  Everyone is good at something!  Below is a list of volunteer opportunities:

Adoption Counselor:  Greets visitors, reviews adoption applications, discusses pet care, aids in the selection of the appropriate animal and completes the adoption process.  May also answer phone calls, do laundry and keep cages and common areas clean.  Should be good at organization and multi-tasking.

Foster Care:  Provides safe, warm place for foster kittens and/or cats isolated from family pets.  Assignment may involve animals which are ill or injured, require medication or have special needs.  May require care for a few days, several weeks or several months. 

Shelter Assistant:  Each morning the shelter must be cleaned thoroughly.  Each cage is cleaned and bedding and litter changed as needed.  Floors are washed and laundry is done.  Qualified Shelter Assistants may also be asked to administer morning medications.

Afternoon Kennel Attendants:  Before closing each night, cages are inspected for cleanliness, bedding and litter is changed as needed and cats are given their evening feeding.  Qualified Kennel Attendants may also be asked to administer evening medications.

Offsite Event Volunteers:  Weekend work involving transport, booth set-up and take-down at cat shows and adoption events.  During event, volunteers may exhibit cats, speak with the public and promote animal rescue.  Area schools, clubs and organizations sometimes ask MEOW to talk with them about pet care and/or animal rescue. 

Special Events:  Events include annual auction and holiday crafts/baked goods bazaar.  Duties may include procuring items, volunteering at the event venues, making crafts, baking or other tasks.

Trap-Neuter-Release:  Responds to requests for trapping feral or free-roaming cats.  May include counseling the public, trap pickup and delivery, assessing trap sites, setting traps and arranging for monitoring, retrieving trapped cats and cleaning traps. 

Adoption Support:  Sends email surveys to adopters at one week, one month and one year marks.  Creates statistics based on adopters' responses.

Medical Care Assistant:  This position involves helping with medical tasks such as vaccinating, deworming, nail trimming, animal restraint, etc.  The volunteer may assist with intake, foster cat and kitten exams, setting up diagnostic tests and administering medications.

Petfinder Assistant:  Posts available animals to Petfinder and removes them when adopted.  The Petfinder posting includes a photo, personality profile and any special needs.  May also photograph cats and kittens.

Office Assistant:  Enters adoption info into databases, files, makes adoption packets, answers phones and returns phone calls and other tasks.  May need to bring own laptop with wireless adapter to shelter.

Meet Your Match Assessor:  When the shelter is closed, assessor performs evaluation per Meet Your Match training.  Involves putting a cat into a carrier, carrying it into a small enclosed room, then back to cage and scoring the evaluation.

MEOW Buddy:  Relieves potential boredom and satisfies the cats' needs for playing and affection by visiting with them in a private room at least once a week.  Provides information to help flesh out the cat's personality profile on Petfinder.

If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please email volunteer@meowcatrescue.org

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Marilyn Hendrickson is a transplant from Montana who has lived in the Kirkland area since 1985. She volunteers weekly at the MEOW Cat Rescue shelter in Houghton and enjoys cooking, reading, wine-tasting and spending time with friends and family.