If you were lucky enough to live in New Zealand for a few months each year, chances are you’d spend your time exploring the pristine beaches and snowcapped mountains of the country’s enchanted islands. But when Philippa Macfarlane makes the trek there each winter, she looks forward to a different kind of adventure: fostering homeless kittens. Volunteering through the RSPCA in Christchurch, she fosters two to three litters of kittens during each stay, while also working to improve the shelter’s policies so that fewer homeless kittens and puppies end up there.

"I foster because I care and because I feel I can make a difference," Macfarlane says. "I want to try to make the world a better place. While I have energy and resources, I will use them to educate, educate, educate for those who cannot speak for themselves."

**Get the September 2008 issue of CAT FANCY to read the full article.**