Whiskers In Need

Mission

Whiskers In Need (WIN) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of cats needing shelter care and/or awaiting adoption.  In particular, we specialize in shy, scared, under-socialized, special needs, and/or medically challenged kittens/cats needing a second chance or additional care before being ready for adoption. WIN focuses on each cat it takes in, doing whatever is necessary to fulfill our motto: "Helping cats win, one at a time."

Description

WIN is a 501(c)(3) charity that supports cats and kittens in our foster home network until they are ready and able to be adopted into loving forever homes. Since its inception in 2019, WIN has focused on aiding cats/kittens from our shelter partner, Adams County Pet Rescue (ACPR). In 2020 WIN created a network of local volunteers able to foster everything from orphaned bottle babies to senior cats. In 2022, WIN began working with local trappers in King and Snohomish counties to foster semi-feral and feral kittens for socialization and adoption. As of 2025, WIN is working with ACPR to manage cats in the Issaquah Petco adoption room. Our goal is to cover the expenses for food, bedding, toys, goody bags for going home, routine and emergency medical care (76% of what we spend), foster and adoption room infrastructure such as cat trees, litter boxes, dishes, and everything else necessary to keep the cats safe, healthy, and happy while they wait for their forever homes. Our organization is run by volunteers who manage all administrative tasks, social media, fundraising, foster care management, scheduling of medical care, transportation to/from appointments, blanket making and more.

The majority of our cats come from rural, eastern Washington where there is little to no opportunity to be adopted, over to urban western Washington where they have significantly greater odds of being adopted as a beloved family pet. Some kitties come to us via our volunteer connections or through other rescues or vet clinics. We are dedicated to doing whatever we can to help each cat win the right forever home.

Our partner, ACPR, does wonders with scarce resources, but to enable this partnership to flourish WIN has committed to covering the everyday expenses for the cats we take into the our foster care network and the Issaquah adoption center. Adoption fees go directly to ACPR and WIN works 100% from donations.

We feel we are truly making a difference for the cats who come to us.   Our volunteers and donors often describe us as a "tiny but mighty" rescue!

We invite you to visit our website, whiskersinneed.org, to learn more about us, and we thank you for your support.

Recognition

We are extremely grateful for our amazing volunteers, foster families, adopters, and outstanding supporters.