05/29/2026
We couldn't have said it better ourselves! People need companionship, ESPECIALLY when facing hard times, and community care is an essential part of making that accessible. At Twitchy Tails, we put 2% of our income into a fund to help provide pay-what-you-can services for low/no-income community members, so they can take time to see to their own well-being and know that their beloved pets' needs are taken care of.
Someone commented this morning that it seems like our priorities here at Oly Camp Kitties have changed — that they were under the impression we were just here for the cats.
TLDR: nothing has changed. 💛
Our mission has always been "Providing Spay/Neuter & Basic Health Services to The Cats of Olympia's Houseless Community." This is reflected on our socials, our website, in presentations we give, and on all our promotional materials. It is not a secret — we aim to be extremely transparent about who we are and what we do.
Oly Camp Kitties was started after observing that people experiencing homelessness often struggle to access existing spay and neuter resources for their cats — due to lack of transportation, lack of funds, or struggles with daily living tasks such as keeping appointments. OCK acts as a "cat concierge," transporting kitties to and from spay and neuter clinics and covering 100% of the cost of services. As of 2024 we have also added basic supplies — food, flea meds, deworming meds, and other standard needs — distributed through weekly outreach visits.
Our goals are threefold:
🐾 To reduce the stray and feral cat population
🐾 To improve the health and welfare of cats in the unhoused community
🐾 To educate our houseless neighbors on how to better care for their cats
We hear a lot in our work — "but homeless people should not have pets! How could they possibly care for them? They can't even take care of themselves!"
I have two answers to this.
The moral answer.
People experiencing homelessness have pets for the same reason the rest of us do. Pets provide companionship that improves mood, outlook, and hope. Science proves pets boost oxytocin and endorphins, providing a sense of general wellbeing and comfort. Caring for a pet lowers blood pressure, anxiety, and depression. It provides a sense of normalcy and structure — something many of us take for granted but that can be golden for someone struggling to maintain routine. Caring for a pet provides a sense of worth that is critical for a person who is used to being passed by people who do not spare them a glance. Lack of eye contact and recognition is dehumanizing. It makes a person feel invisible. Communication from a pet — eye contact, purrs, cuddles — can be restorative and grounding. It tells a person experiencing homelessness that they are visible and loved.
The pragmatic answer.
They are going to have pets. One of the best pieces of advice I have ever received is this: sometimes you have to acknowledge that something just “is “— and not fight it, but figure out how to adapt to it. We at OCK are not going to stop homeless people from having pets. Neither are you. So given that — what concrete, measurable things can we do to meet our organizational goals, outlined above?
Because of the nature of what we do, our work with the cats is inextricably linked to our work with their human owners. Helping the cats means supporting the owners. That can mean teaching owners about cat care, helping connect them with homeless service resources, or advocating for them to community leadership. All of this benefits the cats. It may benefit the humans too — bonus! 😄
We are probably not for you if you:
❌ Hate homeless people
❌ Want to argue about homelessness and homeless people and how much they suck
❌ Love cats but believe only wealthy people should have them
If you are a cat lover who just cannot get down with helping homeless cat owners — there are so many great cat organizations out there, even just in our neck of the woods. Please support them! Locally, almost all our cat orgs are 100% volunteer run and donor funded. They need your support.
If you are here because you understand what we do and you believe in our work — THANK YOU. If you support our work financially — THANK YOU. We are 100% run by volunteers and 100% funded by our community.
We know not everyone will agree with our mission. AND — we appreciate every single one of you who does. We believe this work is worth doing. 💛🐾
