Every cat deserves a soft place to land.

We're a Ripon-based rescue with no boarding facility — but if we can help a cat or kitten anywhere else in the county, we will. We aren't a registered charity, so we can't apply for grants or place collection tins in supermarkets and pet shops the way registered charities can. That limits our fundraising, but we've found some brilliant independently owned businesses who are happy to back us.

Mandy and I started the rescue in August 2024. I'd been feeding a growing number of unneutered, unowned semi-feral cats in my garden — each one going on to father more litters, repeating the cycle of unwanted colonies. We planned to focus on trap, neuter and return. Then the calls started coming in: litters of kittens born in garden sheds, vets ringing about abandoned cats. Very hard to say no to any of it, as you can imagine.

Every cat in our rescue lives in a home — mine, Mandy's, or one of our dedicated fosterers. In our first year we rehomed around 300 cats and kittens. Each year the calls for help increase, so we're always looking for more fosterers.

We've been lucky to partner with Claro Hill Vets in Pannal, who neuter, chip, vaccinate, flea-treat and worm every cat at a discounted rate. Laura, who owns the practice, and her whole team are passionate about animal welfare and support us as much as they can.

On average we spend a couple of hundred pounds on each animal while they're with us — more if they arrive unwell. We charge a £110 adoption fee for cats over a year old, £135 for kittens (£240 for a pair), which is in line with other rescues. Even so, we're always working at a loss, covering the rest through fundraising events and our own pockets. In 2025 our vet bills alone came to over £38,000. Individual cases included Misty, a Maine Coon whose mouth abscess cost more than £1,500, and a litter that arrived with biting lice and cat flu.

We'd love to expand — we hate turning animals away — and we hope to become a registered charity in time, though the process is lengthy and the cost of living crisis means more animals than ever are being relinquished or going without the care they need.

So, on behalf of everyone at Alley Cats Ripon — thank you. Whether you're here to adopt, to foster, or because you've given a donation, every bit of support directly helps a cat in need. We genuinely couldn't do it without you.