Project to help ferals cats in Secunda CBD begins
The past week more and more kittens were spotted between trash bags and in different nooks and crannies. Ms Van Zyl found several carcasses, as well as a few very emaciated kittens in the CBD in need of urgent medical attention.
SECUNDA – Feral Watch’s project to trap, neuter and return feral cats in the central business district kicked off last week with the first two felines caught.
Ms Nicolette van Zyl, founder of Feral Watch TNR, these two cats were sterilised with money donated by Mr Imraan Salajee, one of the landlords in the CBD.
The situation of an exploding cat population in the CBD is dire with kitty season every four months or so, and not enough food, especially for the babies.
“The problem is worse than we thought,” said Ms Van Zyl.
The past week more and more kittens were spotted between trash bags and in different nooks and crannies. Ms Van Zyl found several carcasses, as well as a few very emaciated kittens in the CBD in need of urgent medical attention.
“The kittens dehydrate, because they cannot yet hunt for themselves and cannot suckle on their mother forever. There is not enough food for the moms and their milk dry up.
The little ones are mostly in hiding. Some of the cats contract food poisoning from old food dumped by humans.”
Adding to this problem, is the dumping of domestic kittens.
Feral Watch was greeted last week with a dumped kitten box near the area where they recently found feral kittens.
“That is unfortunately the reality of the situation. People read about the organisation and then just dump their domesticated animals near the colonies.
“I cannot stress this enough – do not dump your animals.
“It is extremely cruel.
“If they do not starve to death, the colony cats will kill them.
“If they are not born in a colony, they are not accepted.
“Also, do not remove feral babies to give to us – they need their mother to teach them,” said Ms Van Zyl.
The problem has subsided in some spots, such as the Cosmos Pharmacy, where colonies are controlled and often fed which then leads to healthier animals and controlled numbers.
According to Ms Van Zyl, the dire situation will worsen if the animals are culled or removed.
“This will create a vacuum effect where another colony will simply move in and take over where a former colony was removed. If the cats are gone, it will impact on the rodent population and soon there will be an infestation of rodents in the CBD.
“The best way to deal with the situation is to get the current cat population under control by the trap, neuter and return method. Giving them additional food and shelters will help them be healthy and keep the population at bay.”
This project in the CBD will cost at least R50 000 when taking into account that there are between 80 and 100 cats, maybe even more, and vet rates are about R500 per cat.
Feral Watch TNR asked businesses and landlords in the CBD, as well as the public to help solve the problem by donations towards the vet bill or to sponsor a few cats.
The team will also have a gift wrapping table in the Secunda Mall near Truworths this festive season where you can have your gifts uniquely wrapped in exchange for a donation.
For more information, send Ms Van Zyl a WhatsApp message at 082 781 9435 or visit their Facebook page.
