It all starts with a cat.

That’s where the circle begins—a stray on the porch, a rustle under the shed, or a pair of glowing eyes in the garden at dusk. Twenty years ago, founder Sally and a few cat-passionate community members looked around South King County, saw a desperate need for accessible feline care, and decided to take action.

What started as a modest grassroots effort—hauling traps out of garages and driving weekly transports north of Seattle—has grown into a regional lifeline. As South County Cats celebrates our 20th Anniversary, we aren't just looking back on numbers. We are celebrating the real heart and soul of this organization: the unsung heroes who literally do whatever it takes to save lives.

On the Frontlines

If you want to know what drives South County Cats, you don't look at a spreadsheet—you look at what our team is doing at this very moment. What makes them truly extraordinary is that most of our team members are balancing their dedicated rescue work alongside regular employment. After finishing their day jobs, their "second shift" begins:

At the Front Door: Founder, Sally balances a career as a paraeducator, her duties as Board Treasurer, and setting the operational standard every single day. Sometimes she still traps in the field but still works at the clinic, making sure the laundry will get done, and guiding and training the new Executive Director to help build a sustainable future. Yet even when donations of canned food and heavy bags of litter land on her porch, Sally personally hauls and drives it out to our storage location.

Behind the Scenes: Right now, our TNR Coordinator, Deb, might be sitting quietly in the dark waiting on a trap for an elusive mama cat and her young kittens. Tomorrow morning, she’s orchestrating the delicate, brain-power-heavy logistics—managing field trappers, responding to TNR requests, double-checking intake details and ensuring every cat is checked in and smoothly and safely handed off to our clinic partners.

Making Perfect Matches: SCC Adoption Program Coordinator, Cathy, spends her time reviewing adoption applications as they come in and talking with prospective families. Cherished by anyone who has ever adopted a cat through SCC, Cathy works with incredible empathy to ensure every socialized kitten or cat lands in a safe, forever home.

At our South County Spay & Neuter Clinic : One of our clinic partners, Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project, is wrapping up an intense day after successfully altering many cats (today it was 61!). But the work doesn't stop when surgery ends. Claire, leads our Cat-Care team to oversee post-op recovery of our TNR cats, 10 cages with scared and sometimes dangerous feral cats, that need clean litter boxes, food and fresh water, twice daily. While a volunteer steps up to haul mountains of clinic laundry so everything is clean and fresh for the next clinic.

Our Foster Network: Many, many, many kittens are currently being loved and socialized in South County Cats’ foster homes—all supported after hours by a bare-bones, tight-knit team. Debbie, one of our incredible long-time foster parents, has her bottle-feeding supplies set up and waiting. If mama cat doesn't enter Deb’s trap tonight, Debbie will step in to feed those tiny three-week-old kittens round-the-clock ‘til they can make it on wet food alone.

The cycle goes on and on, and it never really slows down and the work is never done. Every single one of our volunteer program coordinators deserves Volunteer of the Year! They are the backbone of our "Circle of Care."

Two Decades of Growing Impact

Our team's relentless spirit didn't appear overnight—it was forged through twenty years of steady, determined growth:

• 2006 (The Spark): South County Cats is founded to become an all-volunteer Washington State charity, operating out of personal garages and vehicles.

• 2008 (Establishing Vouchers & Assistance): SCC establishes its direct financial assistance and voucher program, expanding community spay/neuter access for low-income residents and caretakers who previously had nowhere else to turn.

• 2010 (Building Community TNR Networks): As colony management needs explode, SCC begins hands-on community education, teaching local neighbors how to humanely trap and manage neighborhood cats.

• 2012 (The Pasado’s Spay Mobile Era): SCC launches a major ongoing partnership with Pasado’s Safe Haven, bringing their mobile spay/neuter unit directly into South King County. Parking at RASKC, local shopping centers, and community events, this partnership brings surgery access directly to residents' doorsteps.

• 2020 (The South County Spay & Neuter Clinic Launch): In the middle of the global pandemic, SCC signs the lease on our spay/neuter facility and partners with the Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project (FCSNP), bringing high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter (HQHVSN) directly to South King County and beyond (we have served cats from 22 counties).

• 2026 (20 Years & Beyond): Celebrating over 37,000+ cats altered in our history—including 21,000+cats and 100+ dogs right at our South County Spay & Neuter cinic—and hiring our first paid Executive Director to ensure this safety net stands strong for the next 20 years.

The Wisdom Keepers 

Organizations don't survive for two decades without leaders who wear many hats and step up whenever and wherever help is needed. South County Cats has been profoundly shaped by longtime team members whose dedication has evolved right alongside the organization's growth. At the center of daily operations are our Program Coordinators. They are the organized engines and steady hands that keep our bare-bones team punching far above its weight:

• Cindy (Board President & Transfer Program Coordinator): In addition to working her full-time job and guiding our organization as Board President, Cindy steps directly into field logistics as Transfer Coordinator, building key relationships to move cats safely into expanding networks. She also volunteers with Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project on clinic days.

• Deb (TNR Coordinator & Board Secretary): A retired Boeing engineer who brought tech ingenuity to field trapping. She wears countless demanding hats. Between managing trappers, sitting in unfamiliar territory on night stakeouts, and steering the high-stakes intake process for our TNR cats before clinic handoffs, her brain power keeps the TNR engine running.

• Cathy (Adoptions Coordinator & Board Member):, Cathy brings genuine love and patience to the adoption process, ensuring every rescued cat finds their perfect forever home.

• Claire (Cat-Care Coordinator): Claire works part-time and also skillfully manages the “Benson Inn” TNR cats and the cat care team (a rag-tag group of volunteers that come in day and night, rain or shine, seven days a week), as well as keeps things organized and running smoothly so that our TNR cats in recovery wake up warm, fed, and safe.

• Sonya (Volunteer Coordinator): Managing her role alongside a full-time career, Sonya is the heart of our outreach, onboarding and encouraging volunteers who step up to help. She also is a spicy kitten whisperer and knows how to handle the ones that may need a little more socialization than others.

• Sylvia (Foster Coordinator): Balancing a full-time job with round-the-clock rescue demands, Sylvia coordinates our foster parents, ensuring the plethora of kittens coming in on a continual basis get the medical care and socialization they need. She is also a foster parent herself and finds it hard to turn away the tiny furry cuties when they need it most.

• Cathleen (Donations Coordinator): Alongside working part-time, Cathleen keeps the donations, food, and crucial resources flowing between the clinic and our storage facility. She spends much of her time sorting through endless cans and bags of cat food ensuring the right product gets into the hands of the care takers that need it. She’s an SCC mainstay.  

• Trish (Trapper, Foster & RASKC liaison): Bringing boundless positivity and deep experience, Trish serves as a vital bridge to RASKC while staying active in the field as a trapper and foster parent. Always ready with an endless supply of wisdom, she helps keep our community partnerships strong and our rescue pipeline moving. 

• Gina (All around SCC guru): Working part-time outside of SCC caring for people’s pets, Gina is a cornerstone of clinic logistics and a wealth of institutional knowledge who acts as the vital bridge between our team and clinic partners, while having previously steered our biggest annual fundraiser, CAToberfest. She also offers the best snacks!

• Connie (Former CAToberfest Chair and board member & Event Veteran): Among other SCC lead roles, Connie led the charge for many years to make CAToberfest the thriving community success it is today, keeping our grassroots fundraising strong. She brings a wealth of experience and knowledge and is current CAToberfest Vendor Chair for 2026.

Together, Gina and Connie ensure the heart of our culture remains focused on gratitude. They poured their energy into organizing and hosting our Annual Meeting/Volunteer Appreciation in March as well as our 20th Anniversary Volunteer Potluck in July—making sure the incredible people behind the scenes feel as cherished as the animals they save.

Celebrating Every Hand & Heart

South County Cats only keeps going because of the immense, dedicated community wrapped around us. Whether active, inactive, brand new, or legacy volunteers—foster parents opening their homes to fur-babies, field trappers waiting out late-night stakeouts, cat-care volunteers wiping down recovery crates, laundry heroes hauling heavy loads, or outreach teams spreading the word—every single person who has ever lent a hand is part of this 20-year milestone. To all of our incredible volunteers across two decades—thank you for being the heart and soul of South County Cats: Whether you gave an hour, a single season, or two full decades—you built this lifeline, cat by cat. Here’s to twenty years of rescue, community, and heart... and to the impactful future we are building together!