About Us
Lymington Cat & Kitten Rescue was established well over 40 years ago by our beloved founder Janette Frankland, who continued to lead from the front with incredible energy and determination even in her last weeks before she lost the bravest of battles with cancer in July 2017.
Our shelter in Highfield Avenue, Lymington, can accept 50 cats at any one time, though kittens can swell those numbers temporarily to 60-70 if pregnant queens are brought in.
PICTURE OF CONTENTMENT: Ginger Max is one of many cats rehomed successfully by Lymington Cat & Kitten Rescue from our Highfield Avenue HQ.
Kind, loving homes are always needed for felines of all ages – read more in our Adopt a Cat section. We never put a healthy cat to sleep and “golden oldies” are kept for life if no home is found for them.
This presents its own challenges, because for every cat we rehome, anything up to ten are waiting to come in from all over the Lymington area and far beyond.
Unlike our charity, many organisations won’t take older cats as they can be expensive to keep, often needing dental work or developing heart or thyroid problems.
“Everyone loves young, full-of-bounce cats, but there will always be a special place in our hearts for our ‘golden oldies’,” Janette would always say.
The rescue’s No 1 priority is the welfare of stray or abandoned cats in its core area, which fans out across the New Forest and towards the major towns of Bournemouth and Southampton.
Next there are the cats that, for one reason or another, can no longer be kept by their owners. Marriage break-ups, illness and infirmity are three common factors, though there are countless other circumstances in which cats and kittens come to our attention.
And then there are felines from further afield. Over the years, cats have been brought in from as far away as Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall and the Midlands – and the trend is continuing as other rescues either fall victim to recession or become less accommodating.
BLACK & WHITE MISCHIEF SHOW: A beautiful litter of kittens rehomed from our rescue centre.
The rescue has a bank of part-time helpers, at least three of whom report every day on a rota basis to feed and groom the cats, monitor their health and clean their pens spotlessly.
Some of the staff are retired, some do other work, some are mere youngsters – but all share a love of cats and an unswerving commitment to the cause in increasingly hard times.
Anyone visiting the shelter will appreciate quickly how much is involved – yet lots of the work done for the rescue goes “under the radar”. Janette always set an inspirational example with her selfless, round-the-clock devotion to duty, while other supporters offer secretarial and accountancy services entirely free of charge; there is no place in our charity for highly-salaried chief executives and pen-pushers!
Away from the shelter, there are routinely a hundred and one other things to attend to. Collecting and delivering cats, trips to the vets, shopping for food and equipment, attending fund-raising events, supervising the charity’s two shops – all these and more can add up to hundreds of miles of travel each week. And there is little time for relaxation when poorly cats or needy kittens require attention into the night…
# Lymington Cat & Kitten Rescue is a registered charity and is overseen by a board of trustees. It receives no state funding, relying entirely on donations and its own fund-raising efforts. You can contact the rescue on 01590 678663. Please leave a brief message if no-one is available.
