Dumped kittens sparks outrage
Two kittens have been dumped in the uMhlanga area in less than a weeks time, sparking outrage form the Feral Cat Rescue Trust.
FERAL Cat Rescue Trust expressed outrage after two kittens were dumped in the uMhlanga area in the space of two weeks.
On Thursday, 10 December, the organisation received a report of a kitten tossed out of a car window on Lagoon Drive. According to Tracey Hartley, a trustee of the animal activist group, the incident was witnessed by a car guard.
Hartley found the second kitten at a local shopping centre on Tuesday morning last week. “I saw her sitting on a grass verge and quickly grabbed some food out of the car to see if I could trap her. I called her and she came running over and ravenously devoured an entire sachet of kitten food. She then cuddled in my arm and just purred,” she said.
The passionate animal lover slammed the behaviour and said it was blatant animal cruelty.
“These kittens are left to fend for themselves and often face starvation and dehydration,” she said. According to Hartley, kittens’ hunting skills aren’t fully developed and unless they are able to find a food source, they face a slow and painful death.
What’s more, the kittens are also in danger of being attacked by other cats or humans and could contract a multitude of diseases, such as leukaemia, cat flu and feline AIDS.
She urged people to deal with the situation humanely by handing unwanted pets over to a vet or rescue organisation.
The animal activist also emphasised the importance of having pets spayed or neutered.
“It doesn’t seem to be getting any better. We are struggling to track the current feral population and now our job is being made even more impossible with the dumping of unwanted pets,” she said.
Hartley added that while dumping is a common occurrence throughout the year, there is often an increase during the December period as new litters are being born, and people who are going on holiday often cannot find a home for the kittens before their travels. Contact Tracey on tracey@feralcatrescue.co.za.
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