Three hundred cats at Seattle Humane needed food, Seattle Humane staff said Tuesday, and within hours KIRO 7 viewers were making donations.
“The response has been amazing!” Seattle Humane’s Marketing Communications Manager Jenna Pringle said. “We’ve had $4,000 donated for the purpose of purchasing food in the last 24 hours.
“Our community outreach coordinator said a pallet was delivered today and much is on its way!”
By 2 p.m., more than 100 pounds of dry food was brought to the shelter, and several cases of canned food also was delivered. Viewers said much more was on the way.
The KIRO 7 Facebook post about the food shortage has been shared more than 2,644 times, with dozens of people saying they ordered food through Amazon or dropped off food at the shelter, at 13212 S.E. Eastgate Way in Bellevue, zip code 98005.
“Two 16 lb. bags of dry food due by Monday,” viewer Rebecca Van Engen wrote.
“Just bought 2 biggest bags on Amazon,” Mitchell Gossman wrote – one of several comments.
The story was also trending on the Seattle Reddit thread, where dozens of others also said they’d donated cat food.
This weekend, Seattle Humane is hosting Catapalooza, a two day discounted adoption event Saturday and Sunday at their Bellevue headquarters. (Seattle Humane was started in 1897 in Seattle and moved to Bellevue in the 1970s.)
“We have lots of kittens,” Pringle said Tuesday. “But lots of times our older cats can be overlooked by the kittens.”
Older cats’ personalities are pretty well established, and they don’t always require as much attention as kittens, she said.
Follow this link to learn more about Catapalooza and how you can adopt a cat of your own.
The Seattle Humane Pet Food Bank provides free pet food and supplies to low-income seniors and community members living with cancer or HIV/AIDS so they can keep their pets when they need them most.
The program currently serves more than 300 families in King County, staff said.
Through August 2, Seattle Humane adopted 3,515 cats and dogs in 2016.