Written by Lynette Nicholson, founder of Nicholson Kitty Rescue
Professional photography by @Strike a Pose Photo / Video
Andrew and I have always had cats, and in 2013, a few of our elderly kitties had passed on. We decided to adopt two kittens, and so Georgie and Felix joined our family from a shelter. My sister saw our new cats and decided she also wanted to adopt a new kitty, and so I assisted her to find her Jonty. Then my aunt also wanted a new kitty, and we assisted her to adopt Tiger. And that’s where it all started...
More kittens
From then on, we took in a few kittens and homed them. When they found homes, we took on a few more, and on it went. I then recruited a few friends to be foster moms so that we could take in a few more kittens.
We then needed to work something out that was more formal, especially when it comes to medical treatment, and we approached our local vets to assist us, which they kindly agreed to; we still have a fantastic relationship with our wonderful vets. Today, we’re an official Non-Profit Company (NPC).
I have a particular passion for bottle feeding young kittens. We often get kittens of a few days old and it’s very rewarding to watch them develop and flourish. The smallest kitten that we’ve raised successfully is Hope, who came to us at 74g.
The need is so great that there’s never been a time over the past 10 years when we’ve been absolutely free of kitties. Just when you think you may be having a break, the phone rings and there’s another little soul that needs help. We work on a foster basis, with a number of wonderful ladies opening their homes for foster kitties until they find their forever homes.
Not for the faint of heart
Running a kitty rescue organisation is not for the faint-hearted – it’s tough emotional work. I do believe though that in order to survive both physically and mentally, strict boundaries need to be in place. Probably the most important of these is knowing what you can cope with and when you have to say “no”. It’s devastating to turn away needy animals, but sadly it needs to be done in order to maintain the organisation from both a financial and an animal health perspective. If you have too many kittens under your care and a health issue arises, the consequences can be dire.
Over the years, we’ve homed over 3,000 cats and kittens. Our adoptive homes are chosen carefully and potential adopters are screened. A contract is signed by the new owners and an adoption fee is paid. This fee covers the kitty’s initial primary veterinary treatment (deworming, vaccinations and sterilisation), but it doesn’t cover all our other medical expenses, food and general care of our kitties.
In 2019, we launched our online shop, which is now our main fundraiser. People are very kind and donate items to the shop, which we then sell on (collection in Fairland, Johannesburg). Every cent raised goes towards helping the kitties that rely on us.
Nicholson Kitty Rescue wouldn’t be able to do what we do without the wonderful support and dedication of our foster moms, who open their homes and care for the kitties, and our kind supporters. A special word of thanks to my husband, Andrew, who supports me and is wonderful with the little needy felines.
You can help!
Caring for so many cats and kittens is a costly effort and Nicholson Kitty Rescue relies entirely on private funding, so every single donation makes an enormous difference. Nicholson Kitty Rescue’s NPC registration number is 2022/295468/08.
Should you wish to make a monetary donation, our banking details are:
Bank: First National Bank
Account: Nicholson Kitty Rescue
Account number: 62939550548
Branch Code: 250655
We take good used and new household items for our online fundraising shop, and any donations of kitty food are most welcome (drop-off in Johannesburg by arrangement).
For more information, email lynette.nicholson@gmail.com, call and follow our online shop on Facebook: Lynette Nicholson’s Kitty Rescue Support Shop.
