Feral cats: helping the helpless
“Feral cats have no chance out there, especially with people who want to kill them.”
A lot of people seem to think they can abandon their cat when they’ve grown tired of them – they can catch a bird or a mouse to survive, can’t they? Wrong – cats are very dependent on humans to survive.
At the mercy of humans
There are hundreds of abandoned and feral cats in all communities that must fend for themselves. Some of these cats that have been owned before have lost a lot of their survival skills and struggle immensely to find food, shelter and safety. These cats often go into malls and shopping centres with the hope of finding food and a safe haven for themselves and/or their kittens.
Unfortunately, not all people have empathy for these animals and some even see them as vermin. It has come to the RECORD’s attention that there are clowders of cats at various shopping malls in and around Alberton. Some of these cats are being cared for by some of the shopping centres, while others have taken measures to have these cats caught and put down.
Don’t kill them – help them
Two women, Charlmaine Pereira and Angie Eatwell from the South African Feral Foundation (Safe) approached the RECORD to create awareness about feral and abandoned cats’ struggle in the community, how they can be helped, and why they should be helped and cared for instead of put down.
“Feral cats have no chance out there, especially with people who want to kill them but what must these animals do? Where must they go?” said Charlmaine.
“Just like us, these cats are only trying to survive and if nobody wants to care for them, they must do what they can to feed themselves and their kittens.
“Of course they will go into shopping malls if they can because where there are people, there is food,” added Charlmaine. “They wouldn’t go into shopping malls if they were looked after. That is why we must put feeding stations around these areas to keep their bellies full.
“These cats are not pests, the shopping centres benefit from having cats around – they take care of the real vermin, such as mice, rats and even insects and cockroaches,” she said.
“Removing these cats will only create a vacuum-effect, whereby other cats move in where the previous cats were removed. This just further reinforces the fact that it is better to look after these cats than removing them and, heaven forbid, having them put down,” she urged.
Help Safe help the feral
The Safe team is always going around Johannesburg South communities, feeding these homeless cats and, if they can afford it, trapping, sterilising and then releasing them. Charlmaine and Angie say fixed clowder of cats is better than the alternative. Sterilisation is key to reduce the population of homeless/feral cats.
The Safe team says they are lucky to have a few individuals and organisations that offer free or discounted sterilisations for these animals, but there’s always room for more help. There are far too many cats in need of sterilisations that these kind donors can keep up with.
Safe is asking the community for help with cat food donations, second-hand goods to sell in their jumble shop or even financial donations that can be used towards sterilisations. Anyone willing to help in any way will receive Safe’s sincerest gratitude.
Please note that Safe does not take in homeless animals – they simply help feed and sterilise them, releasing them back to where they came from afterward.
If you want to help Safe help these poor kitties with any donations, please contact 078 862 7010 or 082 750 7449, or email donate@saferalfoundation.org or charlmaine@mondeorhomebake.co.za
Also Read:
Don’t buy puppies or kitten at roadside sales
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