It all starts with a cat...

That’s where the circle begins—a stray on the porch, a rustle in the garage, or a pair of glowing eyes under the bushes at dusk. Twenty years ago, founder Sally Halela and a few cat-passionate community members looked around the community, 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 happens the moment a message comes in from a community member who spotted a stray cat. That single inquiry sets our entire Circle of Care into motion. 

Right now, behind the scenes, our TNR Coordinator, Deb, might be sitting quietly in the dark waiting on a trap for an elusive, feral mama cat and her young kittens. At the same time, she’s orchestrating the delicate, brain-power-heavy logistics—responding to additional community requests, managing field trappers, double-checking details, and ensuring every cat from the sites we can facilitate is safely intaked into SCC's clinic and ultimately handed off to one of our clinic partners.

At our South County Spay & Neuter Clinic, Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project (one of SCC's two clinic partners), is wrapping up an intense day after successfully altering dozens of cats (today it was 61!). But the work doesn't stop when surgery ends. Claire leads South County Cat's Cat-Care team overseeing post-op recovery of SCC's TNR'd cats—ensuring cages with scared feral cats receive clean litter, food, and fresh water (twice daily!)—while SCC volunteers step in to help with daily cat-care as well as haul mountains of laundry so everything is clean and fresh for the next clinic.

At the front door, founder Sally sets the operational standard at the clinic every single day—keeping the laundry brigade moving, doing the clinic laundry herself, as well as guiding and training the new Executive Director to build a sustainable future. 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.

Countless TNR'd kittens are currently being loved and socialized in South County Cats’ foster homes—all supported after hours by a bare-bones, tight-knit team anchored by Sylvia, our skillful Foster Coordinator. Debbie, one of our incredible long-time foster parents, keeps her bottle-feeding supplies set up and waiting. If mama cat doesn't enter the trap tonight, Debbie steps in to feed those tiny three-week-old kittens round-the-clock until they can make it on wet food alone.

Once the kittens are healthy and ready for the next stage of their nine lives, SCC's Adoption Program Coordinator, Cathy, spends her time reviewing applications and connecting with prospective families. With incredible empathy, Cathy ensures every socialized kitten lands in a safe, forever home. Every cat that comes through our program follows the path best suited for them: while socialized kittens enter our adoption pipeline, the non-spicy strays are transferred to trusted rescue and shelter partners so they too can find loving families. Meanwhile, TNR'd feral cats—who are wild, unsocialized, and thrive outdoors—are returned to their familiar territories. Altered, vaccinated, and ear-tipped, these community cats live out their lives safely holding their territory without contributing to the cycle of overpopulation.

It takes a village to keep this momentum going day after day, year after year. From late-night trappers in the field to clinic care teams and foster families, every single hand plays an essential role in keeping this lifeline running. The cycle goes on, the work is never truly done, and our dedicated volunteers remain the steady, compassionate 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 - South County Cats launches a major ongoing partnership with Pasado’s Safe Haven, bringing their mobile spay/neuter unit directly into the community. 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 - With FCSNP and Pasado's Safe Haven, South County Cats celebrates 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. What makes our team truly extraordinary is that virtually everyone is balancing this dedicated rescue work alongside their everyday lives. When the regular workday ends, their "second shift" begins! 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:

• Sally (Founder, Board Treasurer): Balancing her career as a paraeducator with over 40 years of dedicated animal welfare work, Sally founded South County Cats in 2006 to bring accessible care to South King County. As SCC's foundational wisdom-keeper, her decades of experience and deep community roots guide our long-term strategy while keeping the organization grounded in the hands-on compassion that started it all. 

• 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. With her big heart and soft spot for cats, 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 (who are as "unique" as they come), and steering the high-stakes intake process for our TNR cats, her brain power and love of the feline species that keeps the TNR engine running. Deb is also known for her amazing catio and her own collection of cats.

• Cathy (Adoptions Coordinator & Board Member): Cherished by anyone who has ever adopted through SCC, Cathy brings deep empathy and intentional care to every step of the adoption process. Beyond reviewing applications, she personally guides adopters through thoughtful introductions and hand-offs, ensuring every transition is seamless and every rescued cat lands in their perfect forever home. 

• Claire (Cat-Care Coordinator): In addition to working part-time, Claire skillfully manages the “Benson Inn” TNR cats and the cat-care team (a dedicated 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. During her cat care shift, Claire can be heard speaking lovingly to each "resident" whether they're waiting for their turn in surgery or in the healing process afterwards.

• Sonya (Volunteer Coordinator): Managing her role alongside a full-time career, Sonya is the heart of South County Cats outreach, onboarding and encouraging volunteers who step up to help. She also is a spicy kitten whisperer and knows how to handle those that may need a little more socialization than others. Plus she has two of her own resident cats names are Meeka, Huckleberry (SCC baby), and Maple (SCC foster fail).

• Sylvia (Foster Program Coordinator): Balancing a full-time job with round-the-clock foster 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 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 and litter 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, and former CAToberfest Chair): Balancing her work as a professional pet sitter with her deep dedication to South County Cats, whose behind-the-scenes magic ensures every event succeeds, Gina brings years of institutional wisdom—and the very best snacks—to SCC. 

• Connie (SCC Event Vetern, and former Board Member and CAToberfest Chair): In addition to her regular job at Soos Creek Botanical Garden, Connie has held numerous lead roles with SCC. She played a major part in making CAToberfest the thriving community success it is today, keeping our grassroots support strong. She brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our team and is currently serving as our 2026 CAToberfest Vendor Chair.

• 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 cats they save.

• Kimberley (Executive Director): Joining South County Cats in our 20th anniversary year, Kimberley brings a background in education, media production, and non-profit work—along with a lifelong love for animal welfare. Working hand-in-hand with Sally and our program coordinators, she helps tell the South County Cats story, streamline operations, and keep our grassroots mission thriving for decades to come.  

Celebrating Every Hand & Heart

South County Cats exists today because of the incredible community that has wrapped its arms around us for twenty years. To every person who has ever lent a hand—whether as a foster parent, field trapper, clinic volunteer, event helper, donor, or advocate—you are an essential part of this milestone. Whether you gave an hour, a single season, or two full decades, your compassion built this regional lifeline, cat by cat. Thank you for being the heart and soul of South County Cats. Here’s to twenty years of community-powered rescue... and to the impactful future we are building together!