Fiona saving one kitten at a time

There’s nothing crazy about this cat lady who devotes her life to rehoming kittens which have been abandoned on the streets of Tasman.

Fiona, founder of Tabby’s Kitten Rescues, saves about a dozen kittens a month, with numbers increasing during summer.

“I do it for the love of cats and even though it can be overwhelming, it’s really rewarding,” she says.

She started her Facebook page three years ago after her kitten rescuing escalated, and she needed to find more homes for them.

“My daughter suggested setting it up, and after I did, people started contacting me from all over the region to tell me they’d found a litter under the neighbour’s house, or on a building site and so on,” Fiona says.

“So, I’d go off with my trap and rescue the kittens and then trap the mother to get her desexed to stop the cycle.”

Last week a woman dropped off a kitten from Tapawera to Fiona’s home in Stoke, while a Buddhist nun drove four stray kittens all the way across from Murchison.

“When people find these strays, there isn’t really anywhere for them to go, so they come to me.”

She says cats are currently getting a bad rap and it influences how people view them.

“Over time it can really contaminate the way people see cats,” Fiona says. “I can understand people are worried about native birds, and rightly so, but it’s actually a people problem. Owners need to desex their pets and take responsibility so the numbers of stray or feral cats reduces over time.”

TNR - trap, neuter and return - is one method Fiona uses, as do some of the other animal conservationists in the area.

The cost of the cat food for both the kitten rescues, which she keeps at home while they adjust to human contact, and also the cats who are released back into the wild, comes out of her own pocket.

“I pay for everything from the food, bedding and equipment to the worming and flea treatment as well as some desexing - but the procedure costs up to $170 per female and $110 for a male.”

As Tabby’s Kitten Rescues has grown, so has the bill to look after the cats. She’s currently fundraising through her Facebook page by selling handcrafted plant pots for $45 each.

“That’s roughly the cost per kitten I rescue, so each pot sold gives another cat a second chance at finding its forever home.”

Even though she has been inundated with kittens over the summer, she has managed to find homes for each and every one.

And it’s not all stray or feral cats which Fiona comes across.

“Some people dump their domestic pets when they become pregnant as they never bothered to get the cat desexed and then panic.”

The SPCA is currently calling for comprehensive cat law reform that it hopes will help better manage our feline friends. The legislation would mandate microchipping cats nationwide alongside compulsory desexing with an exception for registered breeders.

Chief scientific officer Dr Arnja Dale says 80 per cent of the 40,000 animals which come into the care of the SPCA annually are cats.

“We have the Dog Control Act 1996, but we don’t have the equivalent for cats in New Zealand. It’s time for central Government to stand up and deal with this issue in a welfare-friendly way, which is what we are asking for.”

Dr Arnja says being a responsible owner is the first step.

“Desex, microchip and register your cat on the national database and keep those details up-to-date.”

Fiona keeps in touch with most of the owners who have taken one of her kittens.
“They send me photos occasionally which I love as I still have a bond with those fur babies, even after they’ve left me and gone on to their new families. Seeing how a cat can flourish after coming from such a distressed state in the wild makes it all worth it.”

If you want to donate food or buy a pot, find Tabby’s Kitten Rescues page on Facebook.