Clermont resident rescues and cares for stray cats
With the help of Cats of Durban, Bongi Mnikathi sterilises stray cats in Clermont.
THE Cat Lady of Clermont, Bongi Mnikathi has adopted a number of stray cats in Clermont and is looking after them with the help of Cats of Durban.
Bongi said she has always loved animals, ever since she was a little child, and the cats of Clermont have a reason to be grateful to her for her efforts.
Bongi loves her cats, and her cats love her back. She is working with Cats of Durban to sterilise stray cats in Clermont, so that the suburb can become a happy, cat-friendly, rat-free place for people to live in.
Cats of Durban is a volunteer-based NGO that looks after the well-being of the stray and feral cats in Durban. The city has a problem with the huge number of unwanted cats – and unwanted cats are subjected to appalling cruelty and abuse. To bring down the number of unwanted cats, Cats of Durban uses Trap, Sterilise, Release (TSR) as a means to control the population.
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“Trap, sterilise and release has been shown all over the world to be a successful, long-term, and biologically-friendly way to reduce cat populations,” said Cats of Durban founder Niki Moore.
“Once cats are sterilised, they can be fed in order to control their habits and keep them out of people’s way. Once they are sterilised and managed through feeding, they become a valuable part of the urban environment. A managed colony of cats is an asset to a premises because they are a bio-friendly means of vermin control. The presence of a colony of cats inhibits the presence of rats, mice and cockroaches. The presence of cats will also repel snakes,” said Moore.
She added that removing cats will cause an immediate rat infestation, and will do nothing to diminish the number of unwanted cats in the city. It is also an inhumane and ultimately self-defeating exercise, as there is no option for these cats but to be euthanised.
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