North Shore Times (New Zealand)
No presents, just cat food, octogenarian says
When Roisel Kershaw threw a party for her 80th birthday, she decided she didn’t want a single gift.
Unless you count a can of cat food, that is.
The newly minted octogenarian requested that, instead of presents, her friends and family bring along food she could donate to Angel’s Kitten Rescue North Shore.
‘‘I’m overwhelmed, just overwhelmed. Because I just thought telling people to do this - I honestly thought they would bring gifts and not [cat food]. I’m so happy that they’re going to go to a good cause,’’ Kershaw said.
She received more than 50 items of food to donate.
Kershaw said the idea came from her daughter Sue, who knew how much she loved cats.
The Unsworth Heights resident has had five cats so far, the most recent of which were twins Alexyz and Paryz.
When Alexyz passed away in April, Roisel said, due to her age, she decided not to get another cat but to support volunteer organisations who cared for cats.
Kershaw found Angel Dougherty’s organisation through an online database for lost pets.
They met for the first time when Dougherty came by to collect the food.
A member of the SPCA Community Cat Coalition, Dougherty has been running her rescue operation from her home’s converted garage for seven years.
She provides a space for abandoned cats and kittens until they are adopted - also de-sexing, vaccinating and microchipping each cat out of her own pocket.
A local vet provides discounted services to help with costs.
Food was always needed, and Kershaw’s gift would help ‘‘a lot.’’