One woman feeds over 1 000 cats every day

BRONWYN Dengler wakes up early every day and with over 30kgs of cat food in her car, she’s out of the house at 5am.

She spends the next few hours driving around Kempton Park, making a number of stops at pre-determined locations, where she leaves cat food and water.

A few hours later, she is back at her Glen Marais home, exhausted, but with a joy in her heart knowing she’s just fed over 1000 cats around Kempton.

Dengler runs a solo organisation called Kempton Ferals, which feeds about 124 cat colonies or “families” in Kempton Park.

With each colony consisting of about five to 10 cats, it’s safe to say the HR consultant makes sure about 600 to 1200 felines get a decent meal daily.

It’s almost impossible to comprehend how she does this all by herself, but the 37-year-old re-assures EXPRESS that all the work is her own.

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“I have always had a passion for animals, especially cats, and I can’t stand to see them starved or abused,” Dengler explains.

And so, for the past four and half years she has been hitting the streets of Kempton to feed these animals, sometimes even twice a day.

The animal lover identified spots where the cats created territories – knowing that’s where they can find food and water daily for their survival.

Dengler also has about 40 cats of her own, which she keeps at home. Most she has adopted after finding them on the streets, severely injured and others dumped by people who didn’t want them any more.

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During the day, she’s at home feeding and cleaning up after them – washing their blankets and cleaning their sleeping areas.

Things were worse for her when she was still working.

“Then I’d have to come home from work and only start doing the rounds at night, often getting back home only at like 2am. It was very stressful,” she said.

Even though it’s given Dengler more time to focus on the cats, being out of work hasn’t been any easier because without an income, she can hardly afford the cat food.

“Going through 70kgs of food every two days is no child’s play. And even though I do get a discount from a shop where I buy, it’s still not enough to maintain the costs,” she said.

Although people have often asked her why she doesn’t stop with the feeding scheme, because she is struggling to maintain it, her genuine love for animals keeps her going.

“How do you stop something you’ve started? I just can’t. I’m too dedicated to this and I care for these animals way too much to stop now,” she said.

Dengler receives much-needed help from Dr Christie, a vet on Monument Road, who helps her by sterilising the animals, as well as treating any injured cats she finds on the streets.

“I have found some cats who were in really bad shape. People are so brutal towards their pets; it’s heart-breaking. One time I found a cat that was so badly injured its scalp was gaping open,” she said.

These are the reasons she just can’t stop opening her heart and taking care of these cats.

Dengler is asking for any help she can get from the community – either in volunteering to help with feeding the colonies around Kempton, even just for an hour a week, or in making cat food donations to her.

“We would also appreciate it if people can make donations of food, cat beds, toys, kennels and bowls. If the kennels could be in good condition or people could also help fixing the kennels. If people could also assist us in fund-raising, vet bills and feeding and caring for the homeless animals and with foster care – that would be much appreciated,” Dengler said.

Rescued animals are also available to be adopted.

For more information, contact Dengler at bronwyndengler@gmail.com, or Javone Lewis at javone88@gmail.com. Also, you can visit the Facebook page at Kempton Park Ferals and Abandoned Cats.