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CAROLE’S CAT CHRONICLES – 20 OCT 2020

Not a great deal to report this week. That does not mean we are not doing anything. We are using this time to clean out igloos and removing winter duvets and blankets. Preparing for the warmer months. Cutting back overgrowth of vegetation and making things ship shape for the warmer weather. Some of the cats are covered in black jacks so we want to eliminate these plants. Those cats that will allow us to stroke them, we try to put on frontline to avoid ticks and fleas which can cause itching and allergies.

DONATIONS

Thank you to the kind person who left a packet of ULTRA CAT in our red donation bin at Vet to Pet this week.

Cutie Pie’s hadeda and rain proof igloo was removed about three weeks ago. We don’t know why, or by whom. In any event we replaced it with another one. Here is a picture of the new one. Its a little bit larger than the one before and not ideal as it does not fit well in the original position and overhangs a bit. I tried to find a similar one but no luck so this was the best I could come up with. Its an upside down washing bowl. Push came to shove and hopefully this will do the trick. She seems to have accepted it and if no one removes it, she will have dry food and the hadedas wont be able to steal her food. Fingers crossed.

 

New cover for Cutie Pie's food. Hadeda proof and rain proof
Sandy relaxing in the shade

Caring for feral cats is a constant challenge. We try to keep their lives as constant and comfortable as possible. Outside influences can make this extremely difficult but we rise to the challenges every day.

Once again a reminder that all donations are welcome and we have a collection bin at VET TO PET IN LONEHILL SHOPPING CENTRE.

Carole
0824242363
caroledike@gmail.com

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CAROLE’S CAT CHRONICLES – 13 OCT 2020

Cutie Pie
Aero with his fish and chips
Helping me make the bed about three weeks ago - RIP Aero

MASSIVE CLEAN UP OF THE GARDEN AREA, LEAPING FROG
About three times a year I take it upon my self to clean up the weeds, leaves and mess that are in the area past the car wash where our cats live and socialize with us at the Leaping Frog Centre. It is common ground that the council should really be taking care of, but do not. It is manual work and so I take my gardener to help. He rakes up all the dead leaves and cuts back the overgrown plants, leaving a nice clean area to enjoy. Its hard work but the results are always worthwhile. Some cats just sleep through this exercise, just watching and resting. I hope they appreciate all the hard work we put in. We take away bags and bags of dead leaves and rubbish that has piled up. It definitely looks better afterwards.

DONATIONS
Our red bin at VET TO PET IS EMPTY these days. We really miss the donations that people drop in. No matter how small it is, it still ads up. Please stop by and drop in a tin or pouch or two, as well as pellets.

AERO
These past two weeks have been difficult for me. My own 17 year old cat, Aero, has been diagnosed with stage 3 renal failure and had severe arthritis and spondylosis of his spine. He was in hospital at Lonehill Vet and after three days on a drip with medication was allowed home. He didn’t recover well and sadly I had to make the most awful decision to let him go. My heart is broken and I miss him terribly. 

Carole
0824242363

Aero on his favourite bench - RIP Aero
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CAROLE’S CAT CHRONICLES – 29 SEP 2020

Sad and heart wrenching news from last week. Grey Cat, our 8 year old boy had gone missing about three weeks ago. He was always the first to come for supper and hung out with Fluffy our black cat, at the Leaping Frog centre, around the back by the generators.

Every day the volunteers used to tell me he was still missing. I couldn’t understand why he was not coming for supper. After nearly a month I believed he had come to some harm, but nothing prepared me for the day one of the guards called me over to say a bad smell was coming from inside one of the generators, which he unlocked for me to look inside. I saw Grey cat’s body lying on the floor. I came to the horrific realisation that somehow he got inside and had been electrocuted by the bare wires. I saw his face and it haunts me still. I pray he died instantly.

I had to get his body out so I climbed down into the generator, which was a risk with the live wires which I carefully avoided and lifted his body out onto the pavement. Fortunately one of my new volunteers was with me and had a blanket, which we wrapped him in.

Below some images of the generator inside

Inside of the generator

I called another volunteer to come with plastic bags to ensure his body was completely secured before phoning the vet. I asked them if they would take him in for cremation the next day. They asked me to ensure his body was well wrapped and that they would take him in. I was so grateful as I wanted to make sure his body would be treated with respect in death.

This whole incident lays heavy on my heart. He must have taken refuge inside the warm generator on one of those bitterly cold nights we had in late August. I can only say at least we have closure.

There is no doubt that feral cats experience such difficult hardships in their lifetime. If only we could help them more. I always want to create a warm place for them to go to, but shopping centre management will not allow igloos and the like…….. this could have been avoided if Grey Cat had a warm place to rest. Also the Generators should NOT HAVE LIVE WIRES, that is a serious HAZARD.

DONATIONS

There have been very little donations in the red bin at VET TO PET this past 3 weeks. Please remember, if you are able, to drop in a can of food or a packet of pellets to help towards the feeding programme. If you would like to make a monetary donation, either a once off or regular amount, here are the banking details:
HOMELESS CAT PROJECT
STANDARD BANK FOURWAYS CROSSING
A/C 20 494 9270
C.M. BARRETO

Many thanks to all of you who support this initiative.

CAROLE
0824242363

 

 

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