Purrfect Pals

Purrfect Pals was born from the tireless dedication of a woman who has committed her life to cats: Kathy Centala. Kathy founded Purrfect Pals in 1988, originally as a boarding facility for cats which also helped the occasional homeless cat. Quickly Kathy found herself taking in more and more orphaned cats, overwhelming her small Brier, Washington home. In the early 1990s Kathy moved Purrfect Pals to a spacious 5 acre spread in rural Arlington, Washington. By converting her new home into a shelter, Kathy was able to provide a comfortable sanctuary to hundreds of cats. And best of all for Kathy, she gets to sleep with 20 cats every night! Because of our rural location, Purrfect Pals has pioneered off-site adoption events and placement of cats in partner pet stores. In the early years we placed just a few dozen cats every year, but now we've grown to the point where we place more than 2,500 cats every year through our shelter and more than 20 off-site locations across Puget Sound.
The Purrfect Pals sanctuaries have become one of the most important cat resources in all of North America. Our comfortable sanctuary spaces for feral cats, cats with Leukemia, cats with FIV, and cats with behavioral issues set a standard for cat comfort and care. In the late 1990s we opened the Purrfect Pals Cat Hospital on our campus to provide top-quality care for our shelter cats and also to provide free and low-cost spay and neuter surgeries to low-income families, as well as free surgeries for feral cats. Annually our veterinarians perform more than 2,000 surgeries. Purrfect Pals has become well-known for our two signature events: the Black Cat Ball and the Average Joe Cat Show. The Black Cat Ball is held the final Sunday in October. A gala auction and gourmet dinner, the Black Cat Ball raises money for the shelter. The Average Joe Cat Show is a fun cat show for family cats. The Average Joe Cat Show is held every year in Spring. In early 2006 Purrfect Pals opened FIV-Land, an innovative cat adoption facility for cats with FIV. Purrfect Pals is currently adopting about 60 FIV cats a year, twice as many as any other shelter in the world.