Sunny Harbour Cat Rescue primarily serve the Fife, Lothian and Edinburgh areas, however we regularly take in cats in desperate need of help ‘out of area’ from Oban to Glasgow and even as far south as Birmingham, where there has been a need for our specialist care.

Sadly, despite over 2 decades of sending out the Neutering message there continues to be an alarming increase in the number of cats in need of help and the problem is getting bigger with every year that passes.  The volume of stray cats wandering our streets is forever increasing and more and more people are looking for help in rehoming their cats or kittens. Sunny Harbour Cat Rescue's currently limited resources are struggling to cope with the deluge of new cases that arrive every day. 

At the current time we have to turn away approximately 20 – 40 people a week who are looking for homes for their cats due to a wide range of circumstances, simply because we do not have the facilities or room to help as we are at full capacity 90% of the year. 

Hearing the plight of people and their animals is heart wrenching but in our current location we have no ability to expand to be able to help these families in dire need of help at their darkest hour.

Equally, Sunny Harbour Cat Rescue are one of few rescues throughout the UK who specialise in rehabilitation of aggressive, anxious cats and provide dedicated post natal care to orphaned kittens.  Most of these cats are deemed difficult to rehome and as such often find themselves tossed onto the streets when owners are no longer able to cope with them or are sadly euthanised.  Typically they are a victim of society and perhaps taken away too early from their mother or subjected to stimulus they find distressing and over time it manifests itself as fear aggression.

By putting in place a purpose built facility we will be able to create essential spaces to help these families and cats in need without having to turn them away simply due to lack of facilities.  We will be able to provide dedicated facilities and areas for post natal and intensive nursing care as well as rehabilitation of cats with severe behavioural problems.

As part of the expansion we will also be looking to include education on animal welfare for local children’s groups and schools through talks and inviting the children to the centre to learn what rescue work entails and how to responsible care for a pet.  Extend our volunteer programs and work with local vets and the veterinary school to provide trainee vets with insight into how rescue truly work as well as enabling hands on experience in the hope of enriching their start to a veterinary career.

As part of the project we would also hope to be able to provide a dedicated advice line on all aspects of feline care encompassing a walk in service to chat to shelter staff and helping new owners attain skills necessary to provide care and environment enrichment for their pet cats.

Many older members of the community often find themselves with the worry of what to do with their beloved cat when they leave this world.  As part of the new centre we would hope to provide a peaceful, enriching retirement home for older cats that would otherwise have nowhere to go once their owner dies.

Certainly we have the drive and experience to push this project forward should we successfully secure the funding to get it off the ground.  With nearly 20 years’ experience in cat rescue between us we believe that our unique perspective of cats, their care and our extensive experience in successful feline rehabilitation can give East Central Scotland a facility and service to families in need, as well as the cats, that is currently greatly lacking.

To find out how you can help us in our fundraising efforts please do contact us.