Kim C. Dickerson, Founder/Director
Lifelong cat lover. TNR advocate. Cat distribution system VIP.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
People often ask me, “Kim, have you always loved cats?” My answer: “I can’t remember a time when I didn’t.” But my love for cats runs deeper than words.
It began when I was five. We lived in a run-down apartment, and I often saw a stray cat digging through the garbage. It broke my heart. I asked my mom if I could feed it, and she said, “If you buy the cat food.”
I was just a kid but I couldn’t let that cat go hungry. I rummaged through my toy box, gathered items to sell, and knocked on doors in my apartment complex. When I explained that I wanted to feed a stray cat, one woman’s eyes filled with tears. She handed me five dollars and told me to keep my toys. That five dollars bought my first bag of cat food, and when I watched that skinny cat devour its first real meal, my heart overflowed.
Since that moment, feeding stray cats has been a constant in my life. No matter where I’ve lived, they always find me—on my porch, at my mailbox, crying for help. Over the past 45 years, I’ve fed more than a hundred stray cats using whatever money I could scrape together: babysitting earnings, my first job, tight budgets as a single parent, even money from my social security check. When times were tough after COVID, I drove for hours just to pick up donated cat food.
But it’s never just been about feeding them. I’ve trapped, spayed, neutered, vaccinated, and found homes for countless cats. It’s exhausting work, but every time I see a cat safe and full, it’s worth it.
In 2022, I reached a breaking point. Funds were gone, pantries were empty, and I had eight mouths to feed. Out of desperation, I shared my story on Post.News, a now-defunct social media site. A friend suggested starting an Amazon Wishlist. I was skeptical, but within days, food started arriving. Strangers—people I’d never met—helped me feed the feral, stray, and abandoned cats.
Their kindness came at a time when I was drowning in grief. I had just lost my father, five friends to cancer, two to COVID, and three more to MS complications—a disease I live with myself. I was raw, heartbroken, and overwhelmed. The generosity of these strangers wasn’t just about feeding cats; it reminded me that people care. Their compassion gave me hope when I desperately needed it.
For over a year and a half, these strangers—my Post.News community—cheered me on, encouraged me, and helped me care for over twelve cats. They reminded me that what I do matters, even when no one else sees it.
When someone suggested starting a nonprofit, I hesitated. Me? Run a nonprofit? But they believed in me. And so, **All These Cats Feed and Rescue** was born. I named it after the question I’ve been asked countless times: “Do you really need to feed all these cats?”
Yes. Yes, I do.
To my Post.News family, this nonprofit exists because of you. You changed my life and healed my weary soul. And to those just finding me, welcome. Your support means the world.
With love and gratitude,
Kim
