Mary Lou Nation has given up her home to help kittens.
The Gonville women is a foster mum for Second Chance Kittys, a new group which re-homes unwanted cats and kittens in Wanganui, via a Facebook page.
People contact Second Chance Kittys and Ms Nation takes in the kittens, gets them healthy and feeds them until she can find them a home. She also pays a portion of the de-sexing costs before handing them over to the new home.
In the five months she has been a foster mum, she has re-homed 65 kittens and seven cats. She has 24 in her house at the moment.
Selflessly, she has so far spent $3000 of her own money on food and vet bills, but people donated to the organisation from time to time.
"I love animals - that's it. I'm doing it for the animals," she said. "I've more or less given up my home for them."
Ms Nation works full-time as well. She encouraged people to de-sex cats and said too many were being abandoned.
"It's not very nice, and people need to be educated," she said.
Ms Nation is nominated in the community spirit category of the Pride of New Zealand awards.
Her nomination said "she works tirelessly at this for the love of the cats and would be very embarrassed if she knew I was putting this in, as she doesn't do it for the recognition; she does it because she cares and has one of the biggest hearts I know."
Second Chance Kittys hopes to become a registered charity this year.
People can get in touch with the group via its Facebook page, /secondchancekittyswanganui