STANWOOD, Wash. — Cats and kittens from overwhelmed animal shelters in the southeast are now at The NOAH Center.
RELATED: How to help The NOAH Center.
"I know I'm getting 17 foster kittens, almost 30 kittens for our operations side and a handful of adult cats as well," Sara Bradshaw, operations manager for the shelter, said. After seeing the devastation from the hurricanes, she knew NOAH Center would end up helping.
"When you have a natural disaster and people are evacuating and going one way, sometimes their pets end up going a different way," Bradshaw said.
The cats they're taking care of were brought to them to make room for the influx of animals taken to shelters because of the recent storms.
"In 2024, shelters are full, full, full, full," she said. "Our job is to help make room for those displaced animals."
Bradshaw would love to see cute kittens find their fur-ever home but understands not everyone can make that kind of commitment.
"I want them in homes that are going to be dedicated to their lives for the next 20 years and if someone's not able to make that commitment, that's okay," she said.
People can make a difference in other ways by donating desperately needed food.
"If you can imagine the Friskies Cat Pate, the 24 can cases, we go through three, four of those a day, up to five," she said. "That doesn't include all the food we provide to our foster homes."
You can also give money, which can be used to buy things like medication.
"A lot of these animals that come to us are sick. They have kitty colds, upper respiratory infections," she said.
Despite the tremendous amount of work ahead, Bradshaw is hopeful the community will come through.
"Everyone can help solve this problem we're having as a nation by donating, volunteering, fostering, adopting. There are so many ways to help," she said.