Shelley Rawsthorne rescues feral cats in Durban but the recent flooding has left her in distress as it makes what she does, incredibly hard to do.
Durban, South Africa (23 May 2022) – For some, the rain predictions for the weekend sent chills down their spines; Shelley Rawsthorne from the Animal Rescue & Rehab Centre felt dread as the weather warnings started indicating potential flooding for her area.
Shelley runs an animal shelter for feral rescue cats and feeds feral cats in the Durban area. She started the organisation eight years ago after seeing feral cats living at the hospital where she worked. She went on to build a space for cats on her property, to be able to take in the most harrowing rescue cases.
“Every cat has a name and each is loved with every fiber of my being. The sanctuary has 2 large 1.5 acres “runs” which have lots of trees, bushes, a shed with double beds, wooden kennels with warm bedding + blankets, jungle gyms and lots of sheltered areas. There are no “cages” besides the side “runs” which are enclosed at the top where new-comers get orientated. Many of the cats are house and “yard” cats that roam freely around the house and 7-acre property.”
The previous flooding left her with a great deal of damage, sinkholes and loss of essential items needed to care for her cats. This included a dangerous sinkhole that formed in one of the cat runs on her property, a new river and her garage wall that became a failing dam wall.
Thankfully the garage wall held up under the pressure of the water coming through her area. The hope was that the ground would dry and things could go back to normal; however, it started to rain over the weekend again and the wall once again became the only thing keeping danger out. It has not stopped the garage from flooding and once again made every blanket and warm item for the cats a soggy mess.
Shelley shared her utter dispair on social media in the early hours of Monday morning, 23rd of May 2022. The flooding has left her feeling overwhelmed and alone as resources are stretched thin for many independent animal welfare organisations.
“An emotional day – tears of disbelief that it happened again, of frustration and of sheer exhaustion. Lots of mess to clean up yet again. Flooded garage, Big sink holes in the run – new ones and those that were filled, another river running through the run, a few new fallen trees and a million soaking wet blankets.” – Shelley Rawsthorne
One of Shelley’s supporters saw her distress and reached out to Good Things Guy for help to raise awareness for the organisation as it struggles to recover from the first floods and now the second round of flooding too.
Shelley does have a BackaBuddy set up so if you would like to support in funds, you can do so. However, if you would like to help now, you can contact her directly to make a difference.
As Shelley is struggling most with wet blankets and bedding, should you find yourself in her area, perhaps washing and drying blankets and towels is a helpful place to start? Or by collecting dry and warm blankets and towels for her to use until things calm. If you have time to spare, maybe even lending a helping hand could make all the difference.
However you feel you can help an animal welfare hero in distress, please do reach out to help. You can do so via email or Facebook.
While Shelley has always loved what she does, the loss and devastation are taking a toll on her heart. All she needs is a little support from a few generous souls to refill her cup!
“The cats amaze me every day and I learn something new from them all the time. There has been an awful lot of heartache along the way, the devastation when one passes or a rescue doesn’t end as it should.
The life of a feral cat is a hard, miserable one, so my main aim is to give the rescues the best life I can, and to show them that not all mankind is cruel.”
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