It is with great sadness that I read your front page article on the “cat hoarder”.
It is extremely difficult to prevent the spread of diseases when animals are kept in crowded, confined circumstances. It’s also impossible to stop the fighting for territory and resources.
Cats are not pack animals by nature, and prefer to have only one or two companions, if any. I agree wholeheartedly that it is unhealthy to keep so many cats in such unsuitable conditions, but before we crucify Engela, allow me to share a few points with you about her.
I first met Engela about 10 years ago when she only had about 20 or 30 cats in her care. Like her name suggests, she really is an angel to animals in need. She has ended up in this situation because her heart is too big for her own good. Engela simply cannot turn away a needy animal and so she is exploited all the time by all sorts of unscrupulous people who simply dump their sick, unwanted or pregnant animals on her. She has even had people drive past and throw sick or pregnant cats over the wall into her property.
Engela is a pensioner who spends almost nothing on herself. All her limited resources go towards caring for her animals. She has been in need of medical and dental treatment herself in the past, yet she will rather forgo treatment in order to treat sick animals. She wears only second-hand, donated clothing. She lives off food donated by her family and friends and on many a day, her only meal is a slice of toast. As a private individual, she has done the very best that she can with the little she has. All her time, energy and resources are spent on caring for and loving needy animals. In my opinion, you would be hard pressed to find a kinder, more gentle soul than Engela.
I’ve visited Engela’s house on many occasions and while the smell of cat urine is prevalent – how can it be otherwise with so many cats – I’ve never seen cat faeces splattered on the walls or lying about. There has always been fresh water and food available for the cats and I know that Engela is scrupulous about cleaning her litter boxes. I find it extremely difficult to believe that Engela willfully neglected the cats in her care. She is fastidious about hygiene and spends all day cleaning and scrubbing. Her house has catios extending from every room, giving the cats access to the outdoors but preventing them from escaping from her property. She makes every effort to isolate the sick from the healthy and to care for her animals.
Before we judge Engela, let’s ask ourselves why people like her end up the way they do. Is your cat or dog sterilised? Are you planning on emigrating and simply “rehoming” your animal or dumping it at a shelter? Do you want to let your animal have a litter so that your children can experience the miracle of birth? If so, then you should let them experience the full cycle of that decision. Take them to the SPCA to see what happens to animals like Engela’s as they die sick, scared and suffering, on a cold steel table.
Those animals were all once cute kittens or puppies that eventually became unwanted and ended up with Engela.
Ask yourself whether you are part of the problem and if not, what are you doing to solve the problem of unwanted animals? As for the so-called registered shelters out there, with regular public and/or government funding, are they really utilising their resources to the maximum benefit of the animals? What are they doing to educate people and prevent the problem?
