THE growing number of feral cat populations across Durban is due to people dumping or abandoning their pets.

That’s according to uMhlanga resident Tracey Hartley who says she has noticed an increase in the number of cats and kittens being dumped across various parts of Durban.

Hartley, who is part of the public benefit organisation (PBO), Feral Cat Rescue Trust, helps feed more than 200 cats in more than 20 colonies in and around the city.

The organisation’s primary concern is sterilisation, but they also feed colonies and rescue sick and injured felines.

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Speaking to Northglen News, Hartley said she has seen an uptick in cats being dumped at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic which has extended to the present day.

“One thing we must understand is that the increase in feral cat populations is a man-made problem. Feral cats are not the problem; humans who abandon and dump them are. In many cases, feral cat colonies arise from dumped pets. One unsterilised female can quickly populate a massive colony. On average, a female cat can birth four to five kittens per litter and can fall pregnant up to five times a year.

“Feral cats are exactly the same as the domesticated counterparts found in our homes except they often have never been socialised and are required to hunt or scavenge for food. They often tend to form colonies wherever there is shelter and a food supply, farms, industrial estates, abandoned areas of land, rubbish tips or where animal lovers provide food,” she explained.

Hartley also urged pet owners to be responsible and neuter and spay their cats.

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