Outrage over alleged canning of feral cat feeding project

Animal lovers and the carers of the feral cats in the community have expressed outrage since their initiative to look after the feral cats at a local Little Falls business premises was allegedly canned.

The dismayed members of the National Cat Action Task Force (NCAT), Anneke Malan, and carer, Annatjie van Niekerk, who feed and sterilise these colonies at different stations, detailed their frustrations on public platforms as they felt the decision was inhumane and against the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962 as amended.

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The unhappy duo, which aims to fight the decision made by the Pick n Pay Little Falls management, detailed their grievances over the matter:

“We have experienced a lot of problems recently at Pick n Pay The Falls regarding the feeding of the feral or community cats on their premises,” said Anneke, who expressed shock as she said the incident was the first of its kind and had never happened at other centres.

“According to the management, these cats are suddenly a health problem and not allowed on their premises any more,” she claimed.

Annatjie reflected on the meeting. She said, “This was a disastrous meeting because when Anneke wanted to defend these innocent homeless cats, the matter became non-negotiable. They removed one feeding station and asked us to remove the other feeding station at the receiving area as well”.

Annatjie added that she had dedicated so much time and money to taking care of the cats. “I have trapped many cats there in the past, and had them sterilised, spending at least R15 000 on vet’s fees, and subsequently fed them with high quality cat food,” she explained.

She also mentioned that these cats are free pest control agents as she’s seen them reducing the number of rodents in the areas where they have found a home.

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The Pick n Pay spokesperson, Janine Caradonna, responded to the matter. “We are strong supporters and funders of animal welfare and would never do anything to cause the cats any harm. Importantly, their feeding station has remained full and with fresh water, and no food has been withheld,” she said.

She explained the reasons for relocating the feeding station. “We relocated the feeding station because when it was in our receiving area, it became unhygienic. Clearly this couldn’t continue as this is a food receiving area. The cats were being fed weekly by a caregiver, who on each visit would leave a supply of food for the full week. Unfortunately, the leftover food in the feeding station was attracting rats and pigeons, which posed a health risk,” Janine explained.

She added that research was conducted before the feeding station was relocated. “Our research showed that the cats are living in the veld and travelling from there to our receiving area for food, so it became their habitat and territory. We then sought advice from a feral cat caregiver in the area with experience of feeding ground relocation,” she explained.

Janine also cited that they were recently instructed by a Health Inspector from the City of Johannesburg to take the necessary steps to prevent the cats from gaining access to the grounds outside and inside the Pick n Pay receiving area.

However, she also vowed that the cats will be fed on an ongoing basis at the new location. “We have agreed that the caregiver will feed the cats daily and we will continue to donate food, which we’ve done for some time. Our store’s customer services manager will join the daily feeds to monitor the relocation closely and ensure a happy solution for everyone,” she explained.

However, this decision was opposed by Annatjie, who said the veld was not suitable for the cats as it was full of snares, and home to other colonies as well. She also confirmed that they will be staging a protest against Pick n Pay on 13 July.