Mass sterilisation day for Kempton’s feral cats
The group already has an on-going project where they trap and sterilise about four cats every weekend
A mass sterilisation day will be held for Kempton’s stray and feral cats.
Organised by the local NPO, Kempton Park Feral and Abandoned Cats, the group will be holding their mass sterilisation day, with the objective of trapping and sterilising up to 60 feral cats.
The NPO was started with the objective of running their TNR (trap, neuter, return) programme for feral cats to prevent future litters being born. They also provide food, shelter and medical care for the stray animals.
The group consists of Candice Stacey-Lee Kruger, Lizeth Lourens de Villiers, Belinda Boarato, Charmaine Damalis and Nicole Marais.
“We also feed around 900 feral cats in Kempton and are slowly putting up shelters for them. Around 450 of these 900 have been sterilised,” Candice Stacey-Lee Kruger explains.
The NPO has its biggest mass sterilisation day coming up. On July 22 and 23, they plan on trapping and sterilising 50-60 feral cats.
The group already has an on-going project where they trap and sterilise about four cats every weekend. Then once every 2-3 months they have their mass sterilisation day, where they usually trap about 30 cats. This time, they are aiming higher.
“This time we will have two vets assisting us and it will be our biggest sterilisation day yet with the plan to trap between 50 and 60. I don’t think anyone has attempted this before and it takes a full weekend of working non-stop!”
The NPO does a lot of fundraising to be able to host the mass sterilisation days. According to them, one day of sterilisation can cost between R7 300 to R12 600.
They raise these funds through different ways such as selling baked goods at flea markets, selling second-hand goods donated to them at car boot sales.
“We are successfully homing many kittens every month which wasn’t done before, so we would also like the public to know that we always have lots of kittens up for adoption at any given time. Also, because we don’t have a shelter, they are fostered at our homes before being adopted, so for every kitten adopted, we can make space to save another,” says Kruger.
“They are first tamed, rehabilitated and socialised by us before going up for adoption, and many are bottle babies whose moms died and are hand raised by us.”
Candice emphasises the importance of educating communities on how to identify feral cats and who they can contact to have them sterilised.
“The most important thing is education; people need to know how to determine which cats are feral, their importance, how they can help them and who to contact to have them sterilised.”
You can find the group on Facebook and they already have about 1 200 followers in and around Kempton Park. So next time you log in, make sure to visit their page and check out all the latest news about their activities. Also, don’t forget to like the page!
The public is welcome to adopt the cats, assist financially by helping with vet bills, or donate kennels and pellets for the cats.
For more information on how to get involved contact Kruger on 079 152 2746 or 072 578 3767.
