Smoky, Chocolate Chip, Stubby Legs, Low Rider: Each of the 70 cats has a name, and Joe and Nellie Salinas know every one because they named them. And the pair plans to care for them.
As I discovered when I met them, Joe and Nellie are more than just cat people. They believe their Native American backgrounds — she’s Tlingit and he’s Yakima — tie them to the spirits of animals. This creates the perfect awareness to save the feline throwaways of Beacon Hill and other Seattle locales, where it’s a dog-eat-dog existence. ...