Cat lovers and Real Animal Rights Foundation volunteers Jade Borg and Fiona Broome Camilleri say that the cat population problem is spiralling out of control, and unless the matter is addressed in a serious manner, the situation will only become worse.

They suggested that vets should be brought from abroad to neuter as many cats as possible so as to avoid the multiplication of the problem, but the government has as yet to take a decision on the matter.

Interviewed by The Malta Independent on Sunday, the RAR volunteers replied that some people first adopt or buy cats, then they throw them out of their homes (mostly without neutering them), and thus the problem worsens because more kittens are born, causing a ripple effect. If one is going to adopt cats, the cat owners should make sure that they find assistance in homing cats, and that the cats are neutered, the volunteers said.

Both helpers stated that they foster animals at their personal homes: “I [Fiona] have nine cats at home, and Jade has ten. We call them ‘foster fails’, in which they end up coming to us, without a home to be found; you cannot throw them back to the streets.”

What can be done to control the cat population?

Asked to suggest ways how the cat population could be controlled, the volunteers said that more neutering vouchers should be made available to NGOs with which they could have stray cats neutered. If this is not done, the cat population will keep on increasing exponentially, especially in March and April.

This year, they said, RAR has homed 30 mother cats that gave birth to around 200 kittens, homing around 260 kittens so far.

When neutering vouchers were made available, most vets were fully booked and occupied and the vouchers could not be used. There are no funds available for neutering cats, and despite being promised that a neutering campaign will occur, this has not happened.

The situation became worse in the last years when, due to Covid-19, a number of vets did not provide their usual services, the volunteers said.

The number of vets in Malta is limited, and for the volunteers to expect vets to allocate time for neutering appointments would result in vets taking time from their private clientele, which they most certainly need, volunteers said.

They added that RAR spoke to Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Animal Welfare Alicia Bugeja Said, proposing that more vets are to be brought from abroad to cope with the demands, doing 3-6 months of constant neutering: “vans with vets should roam around Malta to pick up abandoned cats, neuter, recover, and finally releasing cats”. However, the only response that the organisation got from the Government was that “it is in the pipeline”, ‘yet the longer it takes in the pipeline, the worse the situation is getting’, the volunteers concluded.

Trapping Cats

RAR explained that traps to catch cats are not cheap, starting from around €‎150 per trap. The volunteers said that several local councils do not offer any help to trappers: “pressure needs to be done on local councils, as this is a national problem; investing in trapping by asking for funds from the government.”

They stated that there are councils who seek to assist, such as Santa Venera, yet, everyone ought to take action and safeguard the animals in their locality. It was also reported that the funds for the local councils who opt for traps to the government are not high, reaching a mere €‎2,000 a year.

Furthermore, RAR volunteers argued that Parliamentary Secretary Alicia Bugeja Said and the responsible Minister [Anton Refalo] need to take more action on this problem: “not only fisheries and agriculture sector are important.” A lot of work is being left in the hands of these volunteers and NGOs, leaving them without any option than to rely on donations or their own money: “firefighting is what we do – yet the fire never goes out.

Lastly, Fiona reported that many cats do not have food or water, a fundamental animal right, ending up with more cats dying.

Abuse at home on cats

The Malta Independent on Sunday also referred to abuse of cats that occurs at home. The reported abuses by the volunteers are:

-          Cats being left outside in the streets, roaming around and potentially being hit by a car; or without being neutered, getting outside and entering back home pregnant with kittens (with some people end up killing these kittens);

-          Having the cats sick and not taking them to the vet;

-          Leaving them hungry;

-          Leaving them in a small yard or on a balcony so they don’t litter inside;

-          Declawing (which is illegal) or glue-tipping cats’ fingers.

Volunteers said that before a person decides to home a cat, RAR explicitly tells the adopter about the cat’s character and its needs. In addition, Jade explained the stressful and extensive 2-hour long interview that takes place before adoption, between RAR and the person adopting. The process involves a range of questions, exchanging photos of the home in which the cat will be staying, and monitoring the home after the adoption occurs. “I am still in contact with 250 adopters to make sure that the cats are being cared for,” concluded Jade.

At the end of the interview, the volunteers made their plea to the public, emphasising the importance of neutering cats, becoming volunteers, and donating to organisations so they can keep up with the expenses and resources. From the government’s end, such issues need to start to be worked upon and taken seriously, and ‘not to remain in the pipeline anymore’.

The volunteers also expressed their concern about some animal welfare department officers who seem not to be trained enough to do their job well when picking stray cats.

There are even cases where the Animal Welfare officers conclude that the ‘cat is healthy’, and end up leaving and not picking the cat. However, these people are not trained to judge and decide if a cat is healthy or not; and there is no vet nurse on call with them to take such a decision. In consequence, the cats end up dying. Jade and Fiona concluded that there are good employees who do their job well, yet they ‘end up taking the blame with the others’.

On 10 November, 18 organisations (including RAR) and animal rights activists wrote to the Prime Minister to express their concerns. They are still awaiting an answer.

To donate or volunteer with RAR, visit https://www.facebook.com/RAR.Malta.