Our Story.

In January of 2019 one of our board members got a message regarding a kitten that needed fostering and hand-rearing. At first, they said he had only down syndrome.

Upon arrival, this tiny kitten was weighed, assessed and fed. He was incredibly tiny at 310g at about 4 weeks old and had obvious skeletal issues but no apparent down syndrome.

He was taken to the vet that Friday and was diagnosed with Radial Hypoplasia in both front legs. He was also on the smaller side and very slow developmentally.

Harvey’s foster mom has been in rescue for 5 years and has been a foster mom and neonatal bottle mom for 4 years. She assists with the overflow of neonates that go into both no-kill and kill shelters. She raises them, has them vetted and sterilised and then rehomes them.

One of our other board members has four beautiful rescues and also fosters both cats and dogs for other rescue organisations when a foster mom is needed. She is a gentle and wise woman who isn’t afraid of tough decisions.

Harvey’s Haven came to light when Emma and Megan discussed a passion they both had for rescue and especially the teeny, tiny neonatal kittens who have a fairly slim chance of surviving in shelters unless those shelters have experienced bottle-raisers on volunteer staff.

It was then decided that Harvey’s Haven would be established to assist with the overflow of neonates, special needs kittens and cats that have had kittens that need a safe haven to raise them and care for them. Harvey’s Haven is currently in the process of raising funds for a kitten nursery and aim to be up and running by December 2019 to take in a few kittens and cats at a time.

We are based in Cape Town, South Africa. While both Emma and Megan have soft hearts, they both understand that there are points where tough decisions have to be made which; is why Harvey’s Haven is not only a Pro-Life rescue BUT a Pro-Quality of Life as well.

All kittens and cats will be thoroughly vet checked, vaccinated, sterilised and microchipped before being adopted out to homes that, too, have been inspected to the adoption contract standards.

Harvey’s Haven looks forward to lending a paw to other rescue organisations.