Eden pressed ‘record’ while helping his mom with her feral cat feeding scheme. The videos have gone viral on social media, and the kitties of Eerste Rivier are now world-famous!
Stellenbosch, South Africa (30 June 2026) – Eden was tasked with helping his mom feed feral cats while she was away. The videos he filmed while doing so have racked up millions of views, hundreds of thousands of likes, and turned a two-year labour of love in Stellenbosch into a story the internet loves!
The cats in question belong to four colonies along the Eerste River, looked after by Debbie Loots and her friend Abigail. Between them, they feed around 40 cats out of their own pockets, every single day, come rain or shine.
It started with someone else’s kindness running out of steam. Debbie explains how she and Abigail got involved in the first place.
“When we heard about Mary, an elderly lady who for 15 years fed colonies along the Eerste River in Stellenbosch, we started helping her. We eventually took over some of her colonies as she struggled to trap them to have them spayed and the colonies were growing fast.”
Left unchecked, a handful of cats can multiply, and colony numbers can increase rapidly.
“Things can get out of hand quickly as females fall pregnant multiple times a year,” Debbie says.
Over the past two years, she and Abigail have managed to catch, neuter and return every cat in their colonies, which has resulted in no more litters of kittens to find homes for, and a stable, healthy cat population instead of an ever-growing one.
Buying food, topping up bowls, building shelters so the cats stay warm and dry through winter is a cat person’s labour of love.
“It is a daily commitment as the cats rely on you for food and wait for you, come rain or shine. You have to show up. You also get attached to them, get to know their personalities and can see when one needs medical attention. All that said, is very satisfying when they come out to greet you and you can see that they are healthy and happy. It makes the hard work worth it.”
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Miss South Africa’s “The Mandate”: Preparing Women Not Just for a Crown, But for Leadership and ResponsibilityNone of that hard work was filmed for an audience. Then Debbie and Abigail both went away at the same time, and Debbie’s son Eden, stepped in to feed the colonies.
“I asked my son Eden to feed the colonies when Abi and I both went away at the same time,” Debbie says. “He decided to make videos of the process to help us get exposure and raise funds for feeding and taking care of the colonies.”
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The videos were uploaded to their Instagram page, called Eerste Rivier Katte.
Eden’s kitty-feeding clips were an instant hit, and the first reel he posted blew up almost overnight with 2.8 million views and counting within two days, alongside close to 200,000 likes. More videos have followed, each pulling hundreds of thousands of views and likes of their own.
“It was totally unexpected and he quickly opened a Paypal account for us in case we received donations,” Debbie adds.
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“The incredible response proved how many people care about the welfare of stray cats and makes us hopeful that we can help not only ourselves but more people who feed colonies without any support,” she says.
That’s the best outcome a viral moment like this can have. Debbie and Abigail need all the support they can get in covering food, vet bills and shelter materials for cats nobody else is showing up for. Millions of views can lead to real support that might make that possible, not just for their own four colonies, but for other under-the-radar feeders doing the same work across the country.
This is great encouragement for the small army of unpaid, unseen cat carers out there who show up every day. Press record – you might be surprised at how far documenting the journey can get you!
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