Cat lover’s legacy lives on through Catwings KZN
Four passionate women are on a mission to continue the legacy of Dayle Robinson, an avid cat lover and rescuer who passed away last year.
TO continue the legacy of Dayle Robinson, an avid cat lover and rescuer who passed away last year, four passionate women have put their efforts into creating and running Catwings KZN.
The newly founded group which focuses on feeding, sterilising and caring for the feral cats of the town is a continuation of Dayle’s Cat Walk Toti, which had the same focus.
Read also: Toti cat-carer’s kindness will be missed
Jane Laver, Lynda Rogers, Sue Nelson and Sue Funcke have joined forces to continue having Dayle’s feral colonies cared for, along with assisting other feral feeders around town to care for their colonies.
The colonies Catwings KZN that work to feed and sterilise are situated at the old airport and at Pick n Pay, Athlone Park. Both consist of nearly 20 cats each, many of which are already sterilised.
It is vital to know that a feral cat differs from a stray cat greatly. A feral is born wild, a stray was previously in a home and is now either abandoned or lost. While a feral cat could survive on its own, a stray cannot. It is said that the best way to monitor a colony, and ensure that it doesn’t grow out of hand, is to have the ferals trapped, sterilised and released. This is what Catwings KZN’s prime focus is.
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While Catwings KZN has two of its own colonies to care for, which were previously fed by Dayle, it also assists feral feeders at Buccaneers, Winklespruit Beach, Warnerbeach library and other places.
“We will try to sterilise as many ferals of the town as possible. However, this is dependent on if we’re able to catch the cats and if our funds enable us to go through with the procedure,” said Jane Laver. “When a mother gives birth to a litter we try to catch the mother and have her sterilised, and once grown and ready, sterilise and home the kittens.”
Both Jane and Lynda stipulated that Catwings KZN is not a group to give unwanted cats to. While they may try their hardest to get the word out and find homes, they do not have a sanctuary to take in unwanted pet cats.
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When receiving cash donations, Jane will ask the donor where they want their money to go to. More often than not, the donor will have a feral colony in mind and say so, where after Catwings ensures the money makes its way to that feral feeder in charge of the colony. In this way they’re assisting all feral feeders throughout the town who often fund themselves to feed these many hungry mouths.
The way the community can get involved is by making donations of cat food or money, that could buy cat food or pay the hefty price a sterilisation asks.
By taking it upon one’s self to feed a colony now and then can cause confusion and possibly more harm than good. Drop off points for cat food include Buccaneers, Midas and the bookshop in Seadoone Mall.
Catwings KZN banking details are as follows:
Jane Laver, Capitec Bank, cheque account, account number: 1551340885, branch code: 470010
The group also welcome goods that could be raffled off to raise money as in the past, this has proven an effective fundraising method.
“Over three months since Dayle has passed we are definitely making headway,” said Jane. All accounts from the former Cat Walk Toti were frozen on the death of the feral carer, so Catwings had to start from point zero and work tirelessly to build itself up.
The Catwings team thanked Wesley from Fins and Tails Petshop for his constant trust and kindness with regards to the organisation. Gratitude was extended to Lindsey and Bridget from Cats of Durban for assisting in organising sterilisations and to the community for being instrumental in the take off of this group, constantly supporting and donating.
To find out more follow the Catwings KZN Facebook page or contact Jane on 082-8299-507.
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