A silver lining after the sad passing of an animal welfare hero…
Johannesburg, South Africa (08 September 2025) – Joy Hawksley-Hill may no longer be with us, but her beloved cats continue to be cared for with the same love she gave them.
After more than 40 incredible years in animal welfare, caring for cats that needed her help, Joy sadly lost her battle in August. As the driving force of Persian Cat Rescue Johannesburg, her supporters rallied to make a promise that Joy’s last rescues would not be forgotten.
They set out on a mission to safely rehome each and every single one of her rescues left behind.
Today, that promise has been kept. The very last of Joy’s cats have happily made the journey all the way to Cape Town, where they’ve been welcomed into a new forever home.
The rescue shared the news with gratitude: “A huge thank you to Paul, our knight in shining armour, for opening his heart and adopting all the remaining cats.”
Joy poured her life into saving animals, bottle-feeding abandoned kittens and finding families for cats that others overlooked. Now, with her last little pride safely adopted, her story feels complete, not as an ending, but as the continuation of her legacy.
Our compassion has a way of carrying forward even when we’re gone. In this case, in the paws and purrs of a few very lucky cats heading off to their new life, loved as Joy always intended.
A tribute for the late and great Joy has been shared by her near and dear. The song, written and composed by Hannes du Plessis, is a tearjerker:
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