Become a cat champion
“The kittens always receive high-quality cat food in addition to being sterilised and given vaccines.”
With the end of the first month of the year, Edenvale Ferals has launched a new initiative in the hopes of garnering greater support.
The initiative, Edenvale Feral Champions, hopes to encourage community members to become donors for colonies in and around Edenvale which the non-profit organisation (NPO) cares for.
Founder of the NPO Christopher Mynhardt said its 75 volunteers currently care for over 500 cats spread across 31 colonies which are located in Modderfontein, the edge of Bedfordview, Sebenza and Senderwood.
The NPO’s primary goal is to trap, neuter and release feral cats.
Of the 500 cats the NPO cares for, roughly 470 are sterilised.
“Once word got out, the NPO really gained popularity,” he said.
Christopher said when community members become a donor they can either pay R100 monthly or R800 per year.
Bags of cat food purchased by Edenvale Ferals cost R200 a bag.
On February 4, the NPO had four yearly donors and 13 monthly donors.
“Each colony is different, the number of donors needed per colony depends on the size of it.”
Christopher said the NPO’s smallest colony is between two and three cats, while its largest is about 26 cats.
“Small colonies may need one or two donors while the largest colony may need eight donors.”
Christopher said besides assisting with supplying food, the funds will be used for sterilisations, veterinary cost and when the need arises the cost to euthanise a sick or injured animal.
He highlighted that those who become donors will receive benefits.
Some of the benefits include receiving an annual calendar, a newsletter detailing the progress of the colony, a certificate and free entry into the NPO’s raffles.
“One of the prizes we raffled off last year was a holiday in Margate.”
By May, the NPO hopes to register and be able to give tax 18A certificates which will assist its corporate sponsors.
Besides relying on the generosity of community members, the NPO relies on funding from fund-raising initiatives and from the Tails and Whiskers Charity Shop which it is a beneficiary of.
In addition to launching the initiative, Edenvale Ferals is hoping to reconnect with its roots of trapping, neutering and releasing cats.
Christopher explained that over the festive period the NPO and foster families were caring for over 30 kittens.
“On November 30, we trapped several cats, some of which had kittens in Longmeadow, which we sterilised.
“During the course of the evening, several kittens were born, raising the total number of kittens trapped at the site.”
Christopher said the number of kittens the NPO had to care for depleted the organisation’s resources.
“The kittens always receive high-quality cat food in addition to being sterilised and given vaccines.
“Unfortunately, seven of the kittens died from feline panleukopenia.”
Christopher said all but 14 of the kittens have been adopted.
Once the last kittens are adopted, the NPO hopes to clamp down and focus more on trapping, neutering and releasing.
“We formed Edenvale Ferals to try to prevent more kittens from being born,” said Christopher.
Fact box
If you see a group of cats that you suspect to be a colony contact Edenvale Ferals as soon as possible.
Edenvale Ferals founder Christopher Mynhardt said very detailed information is needed.
Once the NPO is alerted of a colony, it will establish a feeding station and create a routine for the cats.
Once a feeding routine is established, the cats will be trapped so they can be sterilised.
After the animals are released, the colony will be added to the list of the NPO’s colonies.
Email information about suspected feral colonies to edenvaleferals@gmail.com
