A place where cats are safe, cared for, and can stay for as long as they need.
Even the ones others would give up on.
The Cat Sanctuary
Wendy’s Cat Sanctuary is a space in the Hokianga, New Zealand, where cats can feel safe.
Too many are taken in, then forgotten about, and left to fend for themselves. They are left to survive against not just the elements, but other animals and humans as well.
And then there are the kittens born into that.
Like Daisy and Rocky, who were dumped at the lookout. It took three days to catch them. Daisy was scrounging through the rubbish bin, trying to find food for herself and Rocky.
Or Winston, whose owners moved house and only tried to catch him five minutes before they left. He was abandoned and left behind, and because he had found his way to our place before, we just knew we had to save him, and we did. We later found his forever home with a mum and her four young children, who wanted a slightly older cat so they could learn how to care for animals. He now receives all the love he deserves.
Cats are individuals, and they move to their own rhythm.
Many have been let down by humans. Here, we want them to have a different experience.
They are fed, cared for, kept safe, given veterinary care, and given the time they need to settle, heal, and just be.
Wendy
Wendy was my mum and the mum to a number of cats.
From the age of three, she exposed me to and showed me how to love and care for animals. On our farm we had chickens, lambs, cattle, a horse, my best friend Billy the dog, and Philby the cat.
She loved animals fiercely.
When Billy was killed, I learned not to get too close to dogs. They roamed, and I didn’t want to lose another animal that way. Mum understood that, and that was why she got me a cat.
Mum treated animals the way she treated people. She was inclusive, loving, protective, and caring, and she gave them the time they needed to heal and flourish. She would stand up for those who needed her help, and in her later years that became especially true for cats.
In her earlier years, dogs were her best friends. In her later years, it was cats she cried about, rescued, and took care of, making sure they were safe and loved.
Wendy has passed now, but the way she was with animals is what was instilled in me. Who she was shaped me, and it is part of the reason Alan and I created this.
How Wendy’s Care Continues
I’m Melinda, Wendy’s daughter.
Mum’s love and care for animals, especially cats, didn’t cease when she passed. That part of her has always been a big part of me, and it is expressed in the life Alan and I have built together.
Our home became a place where cats came, whether they were chosen by Alan and I, or Wendy, turned up at our door, or needed rescuing.
And once they were here, they were cared for, loved, and able to stay for as long as they needed.
How It All Began
It started with a cat that was rescued from the grounds of a hotel, and I was asked to foster her for two months.
She became immersed in my life, even travelling to Australia to live with me. There was no way I was going to give her up.
Then other cats became part of our life.
Some turned up in the garden. There was a cat that appeared at the back door, and decided to just walk inside. Then there were cats and kittens that were brought to our attention because people knew we would help.
Including the kitten who was six weeks old, who turned up in the garden meowing on Christmas Eve, and the kitten Wendy found in the caravan. As well as the cat we found in the forest, when, after 28 years of driving the same road, for the first time a cat walked out in front of us.
This was not a planned adventure. This was a calling, because the cats and kittens knew this was a safe place.
It was one cat, then another, and then another.
A friend even gave me a sign that says, “I’m one cat short of crazy.” I still don’t know what that number is.
Over time, it became clear that this was not just something we were doing now and then. It had become a place where the cats were drawn to, where they could come and be safe.
About The Sanctuary
The sanctuary does not operate as a cat rescue, rehoming, or open-intake service. There are excellent organisations that fulfil those roles.
Wendy's Cat Sanctuary exists to care for cats that need safety, care, and a place to stay.
Some cats come to us frightened, hungry, abandoned, unwell, older, or simply with nowhere else to go. Some remain with us long term or for the rest of their lives. Some may be rehomed when that is genuinely right for them.
What matters most is that while they are here, they are cared for properly.
They are fed. They are loved. They are given warmth, safety, veterinary care, and the time they need to settle, heal, and find their own rhythm.
This is about accepting each cat for who they are and making decisions according to what is right for them.
It is about giving them what they need, for as long as they need it.
That is what this sanctuary is.
What This Means
Every cat here is important.
Every cat is treated as a living being, worthy of love and care, not a number.
And as long as cats keep finding their way to us, and we are able to support them, we will keep opening the door.
🖤What Your Support Makes Possible
Your support helps us provide what the cats need day to day.
That includes food, veterinary care, flea treatment, upkeep of the spaces they live in, and building and maintaining catios and other areas where they can be safe, move freely, and just be cats.
It also helps with bedding, toys, and the everyday things that make their lives not just safer, but better.
WENDY'S CAT SANCTUARY
© 2026
Registered New Zealand Charity CC64489
Wendy’s Cat Sanctuary
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions