About us

Who is Miss Dixie

The rescue was ironically named after Dixie, the border collie who loved her kittens. Dixie was adopted in Colorado and moved to South Carolina with our founder, Mary, in 2014. There she spent her glory days hiking, running and befriending every cat she could.

She was the most gentle soul, and so desperately wanted every kitten to be her friend. As she got older and slowed down, she became the favorite napping spot for all the foster kittens.

Because Dixie was her first rescue, Mary named the organization after her girl. Miss Dixie passed in 2021, but her legacy lives on.

Our Mission:

At Miss Dixie’s Kitten Rescue, we rescue, provide for and protect abandoned and orphaned kittens. We provide specialized care and attention to sick, injured and orphaned feline neonates and prepare them for placement into loving, forever homes.

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What We Do

Miss Dixie’s Kitten Rescue is a 501©3 nonprofit dedicated to saving the lives of sick, injured and orphaned neonatal kittens in Upstate, South Carolina.

Left to the elements, most orphaned kittens cannot survive on their own, and need specialized care and medical attention in order to thrive. We are a network of foster homes dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and adoption of these orphaned kittens. From our state-of-the-art critical care nursery to our loving foster homes, the kittens at Miss Dixie’s receive proper and prompt medical care for all ailments and are well-socialized for adoption.

To date, Miss Dixie’s Kitten Rescue has taken in over 500 kittens and cats, adopted 435 into loving forever homes, and transferred 28 animals to rescue partners north for adoption. We have a 95% survival rate of kittens in care. Meaning, 95% of all kittens and cats that come into our care survive and are adopted into their forever homes.

Our Story:

In 2019 our founder began fostering kittens. She quickly realized the need for more specialized care when it came to sick, injured and orphaned kittens & need for trap neuter return (TNR services), and put a plan into action. She founded Miss Dixie’s Kitten Rescue, named after her dog, Dixie, who loved all the kittens.

Since then, what started as a single person has grown into a sizable organization. In 2022, Miss Dixie’s rescued, fostered and adopted 159 kittens and cats and helped TNR 177 community cats.

Miss Dixie’s is comprised of our board members, fosters and volunteers, all dedicated to bettering the lives of kittens and cats in our community.

Our mission, while complicated (or large), can be boiled down to a single sentence: we are changing the upstate, one kitten at a time.

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623%

Kittens taken into the rescue

562%

Adopted into loving forever homes

94%

of survival rate of kittens in care

458%

Trap-Neuter-Returned
(TNR’d)

Our Board Members

Mary grew up in Colorado and had as many animals as her parents would possibly allow. From cats and dogs to goats and chickens—she loved them all. In 2014 Mary moved to South Carolina to pursue her doctorate in Biology. She started fostering kittens while finishing her dissertation, and after graduating, she founded Miss Dixie’s Kitten Rescue in February of 2019. Ironically named after her beloved Dixie (a border collie who loved kittens), Miss Dixie’s has made a huge impact in Update, South Carolina, with over 600 cats and kittens rescued in five years. Mary was accepted into veterinary school in 2023 and spends the majority of her time studying and attending classes with the goal to continue saving lives but in a different, more impactful way in the near future. When she isn’t at school, she is running the rescue and spending time at home, caring for her seven resident cats and all the foster kittens that take temporary residence in her home.

Mary Morton
President & Founder

Bethany has had a lifelong passion for animals and animal rescue since childhood. Her parents never said no to her request to help an animal in need and her rescue experience started with baby birds, orphaned kittens, dogs, and goats. She started volunteering at her local animal shelter in middle school, and when she became an adult, realized she had the freedom to make an even bigger impact. She has been involved in fostering, kitten rescue, and TNR since 2016. In 2021 she began fostering with Miss Dixie’s and is now the Co-Director of the rescue. In her spare time, Bethany enjoys spending time with her resident kitties, fosters, and her dogs. She also loves playing roller derby, traveling, and reading.

Bethany Decossas
Co-Director

Val has always felt a special connection with animals, and with cats in particular. She’s been volunteering at local animal shelters since she learned to drive and has fostered countless cats over the years. Immediately following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Val traveled to Baton Rouge and volunteered to care for the many cats displaced by the hurricane and reunited the lucky ones with their owners. She also worked in a busy, open-intake city shelter where she witnessed firsthand the effects and heartbreak of the ongoing pet overpopulation crisis. There isn’t much she won’t do for a cat in need. She once spent an entire summer sitting in her parents’ backyard every night in order to slowly tame a feral cat. And she did! Val named him Tiny (he grew to be enormous), he spent the rest of his life with her as a spoiled indoor boy, and he was the love of her life. In her spare time, Val enjoys being in nature, playing the flute, and spending time at home with her person and her cats.

Val Melkus
TNR Coordinator