Rat poison leaves orphaned kittens
The type of poison sold to the desperate community unfortunately also kills anything that eats the dead or dying rats.
A distraught pet owner from the Video informal settlement contacted Friends of Rescued Animals (FORA) on Thursday evening, 20 February about orphaned kittens that lost their mother after she had eaten a poisoned rat.
Shan Cochrane and Mike Henning picked them up from Pretty Vilakazi who had been looking after them, and they were rushed to FORA.
At approximately 8.15pm the FORA team were ready with kitten milk and waiting for the arrival of the kittens.
There has been an increase in cat deaths in the informal settlement, believed to be caused by the poison being put down for rats.
With Mogale City not collecting refuse timeously, a breeding ground for rats are created.
The community is said to be battling with an overwhelming rat infestation as a result of the piled-up refuse.
The type of poison sold to the desperate community unfortunately also kills anything that eats the dead or dying rats, although the Video community are largely unaware that cats are also dying from the poison.
Mogale City confirmed that the Video community retailers will be engaged as soon as possible to explain the effects of the poison and to convince them to change the brand of rat poison they sell in future.
