sitesandrescueshelters.It’sa giantleap
towardschangingthefateoflivesthatwould
otherwisebeseenasinsignificantorcutshort,
becausetherealityis therearejusttoomany
animalsandnotenoughhomes,”explains
FreeSpiritfounderJudyEckersley.
“Catownersneedtoberesponsibleand
sterilisetheirpets,andorganisationsor
individualsneedinghelpwithsterilisingferal
coloniesneedtotakeresponsibility
andensurethesecoloniesare
managedcorrectlytoassistwith
thehorrendoushealthrisksand
associatedcrueltiesthatbefall
unsterilisedferals.”
AlthoughFreeSpiritreceivesa
numberofrequestsfromlocal
companiestohelpsterilisecolonies
thathavemovedintotheir
propertiy,manyarestillreluctantto
assistinraisingfundstocoverthe
trapping,neuteringandreleasing
(TNR).
TNRis byfarthemosthumaneandeffective
methodknownformanagingferaland
stray cats and reducing their numbers.K
INDNESS–that’swhatFreeSpirit
Claws&Pawsis allabout.Everyday,
theorganisation’ssmallteamofjust
threededicatedanimalwarriors
captureandsterilisecountlessferalcatsand
kittens.Inaddition,FreeSpiritrunsseveralfeeding
andsleepingstationsacrossGauteng,spreads
educationandawarenessoftheplightferalfelines
faceandthechallengestheyhavetoovercome
ona dailybasis,providesmedicalassistanceto
sickorinjuredfelines,andevenhasa special
dedicatedrehomingunitthatdealswithkittens
andneonates.
ManyofusknowthatferalcoloniesinSouth
Africaarerapidlyexpanding.It’snowonder
why.Anunsprayedfemalecatcangivebirthto
threelittersofkittensperyear,withanaverage
offourkittensperlitter,inanaveragelifetime
of 15 years.Crunchingnumbers,thismeansa
singlecatcouldgivebirthto 180 kittensinher
lifetime.Thecycledoes not stop there. With
180 unsterilised
kittensroaming
around,mom’s
offspringcango
ontoproduce
thousands
morebabies–
multipliedto
20000 catsin
onlyfiveyear.
Catsroam;it is
intheirnature–
hencethereasoncatsarea biggerproblem
thandogswhenit comestoreproducing.There
is analarmingnumberoffelinesthatarealso
abandonedandsometimes,lost.Manyofthese
setupcampinferalcolonies.Whilesomeferal
catstoleratea bitofhumancontact,mostare
toofearfulandwildtobehandledsotheyare
destinedtofindrefugeinabandonedbuildings,
warehousesandshoppingmallparkingareas.
Thelifeofa feralcatis hard.Theyendure
weatherextremessuchascold,heatandrain,
facestarvation,infectionandattacksfromother
animals,andevensubjectedtocrueltybyhumans
eradicatingthemwithpoison.Unfortunately,
almosthalfofthekittensbornintoferalcolonies
diebeforetheirfirstyear.
“Sterilisationofferalcatsstartsa chainreaction
andputsa stoptothethousandsofanimalsleft
alone to roam the streets, live in municipal dump
BYVA N ESSAPA PASREALLIFE
PEOPLE HAS HEART
79
BECAUSE time
spent saving lives is
never wasted.
Thecatsaretrappedand
broughttoa veterinaryclinic
wheretheyarethenspayed
orneutered,vaccinatedwhereappropriate
andear-tipped.Aftertheyhaverecoveredfrom
theirsurgeries,thecatsarethenreturnedtotheir
original territory wherea caretakerprovidesregular
foodandshelter.Insome
cases,youngkittensand
friendlyadultsareremoved
andrehomedinloving
families.
Whynotjustremovethe
catsaltogetherandtake
themtoyourlocalanimal
shelter,youmayask?Simply
put,feralcatsstandlittleto
nochanceinGovernment-
runanimalsheltersand
manyareeuthanisedimmediatelyonarrival.The
‘betteroffdead’philosophy––asit is sometimes
called––is notsupportedbythegrowingbodyof
evidencedemonstratingthatthevastmajority
offeralcatsarehealthy.Inaddition,returning
thecatstotheiroriginallocationasopposedto
droppingthemoffata shelteralsostopsother
coloniesfrommovinginthatmaybelargerthan
theexistingoneandmoreproblematic.
“TNRworks.A sterilisedcatcannolonger
reproduce,thusdrasticallyreducingthesize
oftheferalcolony.ButTNRcanbecostly,”
saysJudy.“Cagetrapsoftenneedtobe
hired,dependingontheamountneeded,and
sterilisationis pricey,evenatcharityrates.
SupportforTNRextendsbeyondjusttrapping
a cat.Companiesorhouseholdsexperiencing
problemswith colonies also need to get onboard
and help.”THE GIFT OF
Second Chances
FreeSpirit
Claws
&Paws
founder,
Judy
EckersleyFREE SPIRIT is completely non-profit and
rely heavily on the public to help them
continue their work. All funds donated go
towards feeding neonatal babies, veterinary
care, food, sterilisations, deworming and
other parasite issues, as well as the ongoing
support so many destitute cat colonies need.
If you are in a position to assist, donations
can be made into the following account: Free
Spirit, Nedbank (current account), Account
number: 1180793765, Branch: 198765. If
you would like to more information, e-mail
[email protected].Pay It Forward
Almosthalfofthekittens
bornintoferalcoloniesdie
before their first yearA sterilised cat can no longer reproduce, thus drastically reducing the size of the feral colony