The people behind Galway Cat Rescue are purring with delight after winning a national award.

The charity scooped the Rescue Activity Award at the inaugural Petmania Ruby Heart Awards 2025.

It comes with a prize of €1,500 and was awarded in recognition of the successs of its brainchild, the ‘Fur Ball’, last year, bringing together Galway’s leading animal welfare groups to foster collaboration and public awareness.

Strengthening the future of animal welfare in the region through a ‘one voice’ approach, the event itself raised €10,000 for local rescue efforts, including Galway Cat Rescue’s hugely successful Trap-Neuter-Release programme.

But, more importantly, it stimulated a ripple effect of unity across the county, bringing volunteers and support to ongoing cross-charity collaboration, according to the judges.

“Winning this award reaffirms that our work is appreciated by the animal-loving community we serve,” said Olivia O’Reilly of Galway Cat Rescue. “It’s a shared win for every volunteer and rescue group in Galway working together for a common cause.”

Galway Cat Rescue is an all-volunteer group of animal lovers, committed to helping homeless cats in Galway and dedicated to giving every cat a chance to live a safe, healthy and happy life.

It was established in 2010 due to frustration that not enough was being done to help feral cats.

Since then they have neutered more than 4,600 cats and have been successful in re-homing over 2,050. They also care for numerous abandoned and injured cats and kittens.

Galway Cat Rescue do not have a sanctuary or shelter, but operate using a network of fosterers who look after cats and kittens in their own homes. This provides the best possible opportunity for them to become well socialised in a normal domestic environment.

“We want the cats to find a forever home in the shortest time-frame, and by adopting best practice adoption protocols and early age neuter/spay procedures they can go to these homes directly from the invaluable socialising care a foster home provides,” the group says.

Galway cat Rescue has been officially registered as a non-profit charity since July 2011. It is assisted by animal welfare grant funding from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Educating and informing the public about the care of cats and the importance of spaying and neutering their pets is one of our priorities. Its mission is to solve the Galway feral cat overpopulation crisis through the humane, non-lethal method of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR).

Pictured at the presentation of the Rescue Activity Award to Galway Cat Rescue were (from left) Niall Hennessy, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, sponsors of the award; Olivia O’Reilly, Caroline Gorton and Rhiannon Gorton, Galway Cat Rescue; and Emily Miller, Petmania.