Meow's wish: homes for all abandoned cats — and food and cleaning products

What kind of people could leave their cute 6-year-old behind when they moved away?

Incomprehensible. But that's what happened to young Nanook.

It's impossible to read any 6-year-old's mind, but Nanook doesn't exactly look overjoyed. The fluffy black cat was part of someone's family, and now he's in a small cage. The family moved someplace where they couldn't take him and dumped him off like an old Goodwill sweater. Yeah, let someone else worry about him.

Nice folks. Responsible.

Nanook is one of about 75 cats that have been dumped or found and brought to Meow, a nonprofit, no-kill shelter in Kirkland. Unlike some other agencies which euthanize cats, Meow looks after each one until it's safely adopted.

The holidays aren't just about helping people in need. Meow is one of the hundreds of local nonprofit outfits of — and for — all types who send The Seattle Times their "wish lists" each year for items they need and can't afford. The need for money and volunteers is a given, and isn't necessary to include on the wish lists.

Check out the Wish List online and you'll find nearly 500 nonprofits that need your help. They're organized in more than 15 categories, from agencies serving children or senior citizens to those focusing on the arts or the outdoors.

Their wishes are specific, and wide-ranging. Eastside Baby Corner needs formula, car seats and clothing for toddlers. Heron Habitat Helpers needs useful tools like pruners, buckets and wheelbarrows. ElderHealth Northwest could use exercise mats, sweat pants and a rice cooker. The American Cancer Society asks for prepaid gas cards for volunteers who drive patients to their appointments.

And the list goes on, from agencies that need help to do their good works.

Meow is like many of these nonprofits — short on people as well as goods. The agency gets by with one full-time employee and numerous volunteers, with financial support from adoption fees, cash donations and matching funds from companies such as Microsoft.

Among the current occupants: Alex, a 1-1/2-year-old striped male tabby dumped there mid-September after getting adopted and then returned — for being too affectionate. When manager Jessica Zuniga unlocks Alex's cage, his front paws are on her shoulder before the door is open all the way, and he climbs onto her warmly.

Of course: Who could put up with that?

Director and co-founder Bonne VeVea says they should be seeing a reduction in drop-offs at the shelter by this time of year, but it's just not happening. "There's still an inordinate amount of kittens being born," she says, as well as the likelihood that more people are simply aware of the shelter by now.

One of the few valid reasons why owners abandon the pets that were their responsibility is that some have babies whom they discover are allergic to the cats, and the children's health must take priority. In those cases, the owners are often bereft and bawling when they say goodbye. But many others show little remorse and apparently regard the animals merely as things.

"Many times it's, 'The pet doesn't fit into my new life' — whatever that is. And often it's an old pet," VeVea says.

And like older children in need of adoption, it's always harder to find a home for a grown cat than it is for a kitten.

"To call us about a 14-year-old cat, that just breaks my heart," VeVea says.

Mark Rahner: 206-464-8259 or mrahner@seattletimes.com