Give the ‘purrfect’ gift this Christmas
The calendar features a feline's photo and write up about its rescue story for each month.
THE St Francis Carers of Abused and Abandoned Feral Cats, a local non-profit organisation (NPO), is selling 2022 calendars to raise funds to continue its work.
The calendars, which are sponsored by Compass Cares, feature photos of rescued cats.
“The calendars have ample space to write down important dates and birthdays. A lot of people use electronic calendars, but buying one of these calendars will support our work and help us to sterilise feral cats,” said Morningside resident, Sherryl Bradfield.
Four years ago, she joined founders, Rose Magic and Pauline Tribe have been taking care of about 70 feral cats along the Durban beachfront for the last decade.
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Bradfield said sterilisation is a core focus of the NPO.
“All the cats in the colonies have been sterilised, so the colonies cannot grow themselves. Unfortunately, people continue to dump more kittens and cats. If things go unchecked, there will be even more hungry and homeless cats to take care of. The current costs are already over R16 000 per month, and that excludes the vet bills,” she said.
The calendars on sale will help the NPO to raise much needed funds to continue their work.
“We are always fundraising. Compass Cares has been fantastic. With their help, we have been able to sterilise cats. They print everything at their own cost. Whatever we sell, that money goes toward sterilisation and feeding cats,” said Bradfield.
Carol Tonnesen and Barbara Wilhelm work alongside St Francis Carers of Abused and Abandoned Feral Cats, to trap, neuter or sterilise and return cats to their colonies. Tonnesen said the number of feral cats in Durban is continuously growing.
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“Every year, we say ‘this year was worse than last year,’ and every year it seems to be the same. This year has been ultra bad,” she said.
“I get called out to a lot of emergencies. There’s a lot of rescue work that goes on behind the scenes. This is where the funding comes in. Often we identify two or three other cats when rescuing one cat and there aren’t enough funds to care for these animals,” added Wilhelm.
The team feeds the feral cats at 04:00 each day. They aim to finish at 07:30, when they head off to work. While many community members will take a day off on Christmas Day, the team works 365 days a year to ensure the feral beach cats are fed. Contact Bradfield on 082 510 6762.
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