Help us save Lanjaron’s neglected stray cats!

Hi, my name is Tina, and I recently moved to the beautiful village of Lanjaron in Spain. While it’s a magical place, there’s a heartbreaking issue with stray cats—many are hungry, sick, and in desperate need of care. With the help of some amazing hardworking locals, especially the main cat lady, Cristina, we’re trying to make a difference. But we need your help! Please take a minute to read how you can help us alleviate suffering and save lives today.

ABOUT LANJARON - THE LAND OF SPRINGS

Lanjaron is the most beautiful village at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Andalucia, Spain. I did not plan to move here—I was meant to stay in Granada city—but somehow life led me here, and I am so glad it did. The village is known for its healing waters; this is where the Spanish equivalent of Evian comes from, so we have an unlimited supply of fresh mineral water from the many springs in the village. The air is unbelievably fresh, and there’s an abundance of fresh figs, pomegranates, and other fruits, depending on the season, in the forest right behind my building—free for anyone to pick. When I say this little mountain town is magical, I really mean it, there’s magic in the air. It’s no wonder the famous Spanish poet Pedro Alarcon said ‘Lanjarón is a dream of poets’.

THE ISSUE

Unfortunately, no place is perfect. Lanjaron has a serious and heartbreaking problem which I simply cannot ignore: stray cats. There are too many of them—many are obviously hungry, and some are sick. There are so many kittens that we’ve lost count. My 13 year old daughter started feeding some cats. It began with 10, but that number has quickly grown to at least 30. One day, we found a badly injured cat with open wounds behind his ears.

Here's a picture from before it got very bad (It was so bad that FB censored the photo so I'm not sharing it).

This cat is in a location where lots of people would see him daily, right next to a primary school, in fact. Clearly, no one cared.

I have no experience in animal rescue so I did not know how to safely catch him (I’ve since learned that you need a trap cage), and I felt helpless. We spent days trying to find someone who cared enough to help. Finally, we found a local lady, Cristina, who has devoted her life to looking after stray cats. Although she already has a house full of cats, too many kittens, and several sick cats that need constant care, she gets very little support from anyone, so she mainly uses her own funds (did I mention she’s currently unemployed?). Yet she still took it upon herself to help this poor cat. Thankfully, someone on Facebook offered to pay for his vet fees, but you can imagine how stressful it is for her to find money to pay a vet in an emergency like this.

On top of looking after all the kittens and sick cats in her care and the 10 adopted cats she has at home, Cristina feeds and cares for tens of street cats daily. She sacrifices everything; she puts the cats before her own well-being, so it’s no wonder that she’s burnt out. People call her when there’s a sick cat, abandoned kittens, or any cat in need.

Here is Cinderella, one of Cristina’s sick cats whose infected wound needs treatment 3x day

For example, the other night, she went out around midnight because someone called her to catch a cat that would have been hit by a car if she hadn’t gone. Yet, very few people support her work, so it’s extremely stressful and exhausting for her. There are also a few other ladies who feed some cats and take them to the vet when they can, but it’s not enough—they need help.

We are of course doing things locally, but that takes time. The next chance to get any government funding for a neutering program is in 2025. By then, there will be 50 more cats (cats can have 2-3 litters per year, with 3-6 kittens per litter, from the age of 6 months), and some of these hungry and sick ones will be dead due to neglect.

So, in the meantime, we need help—please. We need money to feed these cats; I cannot bear seeing them hungry, running after me crying. I do not want to have to walk past another animal with raw, bleeding cuts and not be able to do something. I do not want to see Cristina so stressed and exhausted—it is not right that someone doing such good, selfless work is suffering. Frankly, it’s shameful that no one is giving her the support she deserves. What is wrong with people these days? So, I am asking you to please help if you can.

This poor kitty seems to have an eye infection. I would love take her to the vets.

WE NEED MONEY FOR:

my daughter feeding some cats- they love her and run up to greet her when they see her.

TRANSPARENCY

I will share here and on my social media in detail what the money is used for. I’ll provide receipts and/or other proof.

THANK YOU!!

Please, if you can help in any way, I (and especially my daughter, all the cat ladies, and the cats of Lanjaron) will be forever grateful. Any little helps.

If you have a business and want me to give you a shout-out on my social media pages, please let me know.

If you’re ever near Lanjaron, please come visit and meet all the cats and see them healthy and fattened up—thanks to you!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for reading and caring.

with all my love and gratitude,

Tina ❤️