Updates on the Owen Beach Boat Cats

You’ve likely heard that a boat was discovered off the coast of Owen Beach last week with more than 30 cats on board. On Friday, 31 cats arrived at Tacoma Humane. Over the course of several days, Tacoma Animal Control returned to the boat multiple times to continue the rescue effort, that total rose to 60 cats by Wednesday, a number we never could have anticipated.  

All 60 cats have received initial exams, vaccines and parasite preventatives, and are being monitored by our team. Being able to house this large influx in an already crowded shelter would not have been possible without our incredible foster network, who opened their homes and their hearts to over 20 of these cats; giving them a quiet place to heal, decompress, and learn to trust.  

Large intakes like this involve a lot of teamwork, from coordination with our animal control partners to how our team prepares and responds to an influx of animals. Animal control plays a critical role in these situations, safely removing animals from difficult conditions and getting them into our care, especially given the unique circumstances of where these cats were located.  

We’re trying our best to be prepared for whatever comes through our doors, but now that we have 193 cats in house and 234 in foster, our space, resources and staffing have been stretched thin. 

When such a large number of animals comes in all at once, especially while having a large number of cats already in our care, it can put a strain on shelter space and resources. If you are looking for ways to help these cats, here are just a few ways you can assist:  

• Foster – Opening your home temporarily to a pet in need helps us have space for the next one that needs help. 

• Donate – Monetary donations help support the medical and daily care for these cats while they are in our care. Donations made over and above the boat cats’ needs will be used for other pets in our care who need care.

• Donate Items – If you’d like to donate items to help support us while we care for the cats, you can find a wish list of needed items on either Chewy or Amazon.

• Adoption – The boat cats will not be available to adopt for some time, but adopting the ones that are ready frees up space for us to take in others. Buddy adoption for cats means that fees are always waived on the second adoption (in a single visit), and our next fee-waived adoption event is on Thursday, August 20th.

We will update this post as more information is available on this case. We’re grateful for a compassionate community that supports us in caring for so many pets in need, and for the collaborative partnership we have with animal control that makes responses like this possible.