Chris Militzer/Miliman12 Photography
This article originally appeared in the March/April 2019 print edition of Alexandria Living Magazine. To subscribe, click here.
----------
More than 400 cats got a second — or ninth — chance at life last year, thanks to the efforts of the volunteers and foster families behind King Street Cats.
Many were senior cats, or those with special medical and/or behavioral needs, that would not have made it out of regional shelters without being rescued by the organization.
Unlike some shelters, King Street Cats is under no pressure to get its cats adopted, “so they can stay with us for as long as it takes to find the right home — not just any home,” said Melissa Murphy, who has been a volunteer with King Street Cats since 2004.
Each day, King Street Cats gets lists of cats from shelters in the D.C. metro area that “need out” or they will be euthanized. “Whenever we can, we will pull from those lists, especially the senior and special needs cats we know have little chance of rescue,” Murphy said. The organization will also take strays whenever they have room. And, it is the organization’s policy to always take back any cat that was adopted from KSC. “We recently had a 17-year-old returned. Sadly, we always have an extensive waiting list of cats to come into us.”
Spearheaded by Ethel Beun, the organization was originally run out of what was the Unique gift shop on King Street. The Alexandria cat rescue group became a 501c3 nonprofit in 2003. The group moved to its new location in 2009, at 25 S. Dove Street in Alexandria, where it continues today.
On average, the group houses about 30 free-roaming cats at Dove Street and more than 100 cats and kittens are housed in about 65 foster homes. King Street Cats is considered an animal shelter and is fully state-licensed and inspected. The facility on Dove Street is about 1,000 square feet.
King Street Cats is an all-volunteer run organization with 35 “core” volunteers who treat it like a full-time job, although none of them are paid. Another 65 volunteers help out when they can. “We’re from a variety of places and backgrounds,” Murphy said. “You might find yourself scooping out litter boxes with a vice admiral!”
In addition, King Street Cats partners with the Lyles Crouch Traditional Academy’s Animal Crusaders program. “[We] love when the children come to visit with us. It’s awesome that they are being taught about caring for animals at a young age,” Murphy said.
Although most cats don’t stay too long at King Street Cats, the resident who has currently stayed there the longest time is a cat named Salali. “She came to us from Kuwait about two years ago,” Murphy said. “She has taken a while to settle down as other cats are not her thing. She has mellowed out a lot so we know it won’t be long now before she picks her person.”
The rescue group spends 100 percent of its donations on the care of the cats. “Despite a generous discount by our super vets at Hayfield and Fort Hunt, our biggest expense is veterinary care,” Murphy said. “We take in a lot of special medical needs cases so that often entails specialists’ visits and surgeries.”
The non-profit’s biggest fundraiser each year is ACT for Alexandria Community Foundation’s Spring2Action — the 24-hour online fundraiser. “We have come in the Top 5 since we began participating in it, which is quite a feat as we’re all amateur fundraisers working on it,” Murphy noted.
King Street Cat’s other big event is an annual theater night fundraiser at the Little Theatre of Alexandria (this year it’s scheduled for Friday, July 26). More in-formation about KSC’s events is available at kingstreetcats.org. “We want to raise enough funds to be able to continue to save senior and special needs cats and kittens,” Murphy said.
If you want to help King Street Cats but don’t have time to volunteer, you can check out their wish list (it includes food, kitty litter and treats) on the King Street Cats website. “We are so grateful to the local community for their support, without which we simply could not continue our rescue work,” Murphy said. The group does not receive any government funding.
“We feel so fortunate to be located in Alexandria, which is such an animal-friendly community,” Murphy said.
