Saving some cool cats on V-day
FAIRLAND – Fairland Feral Cats Food and Fundraiser aim to raise funds and awareness of feral cats living in Fairland and surrounding areas.
Colonies of feral cats have been spotted at Worldwear and at the FNB complexes in Fairland.
These cats have been taken care of by Vivienne Jones, a long-standing resident of Fairland.
Jones is a pensioner and devotes her time to ensuring that the ferals are fed and sterilised. She has fed about 80 feral cats each day and this excludes those found at the 14th Avenue Hyperama Shopping Centre in Roodepoort.
To support this cause, a Fairland Feral Cats Food and Fundraiser will be held on Saturday, 14 February, at the park near the bottom of 3rd Avenue, Fairland from 9am to 2pm.
Families will have the opportunity to pose for photographs, which will be taken by professional photographer Milanie Roos from Shades of Love, in exchange for cat food or a donation.
Event organiser Lynette Nicholson said that she is very proud to host the fundraiser and explained,”Feral cats do not belong in shelters, as they are not socialised and not adoptable. Sadly, some people see a feral colony as a place to dump their unwanted cats or kittens. It is very easy to notice a new cat in the colony – especially if it is tame. In these cases, the domesticated cat is removed and a loving home is found for them,” she said.
Nicholson further explained that the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) policy is followed when dealing with feral cats in the area.
“Cats are trapped using special traps, taken to the vet to sterilise, and then released back into the feral colony. The cats that are sterilised have one of their ears clipped to indicate that they are already sterilised and shouldn’t be trapped again. If kittens are born, and they can be caught, sometimes they can be socialised and can be placed in loving homes,” she said.
