The Feral Cat Project in Cape Town successfully sterilised 3638 cats within the last 11 months; that is an incredible accomplishment and goes a long way in managing the population.
Cape Town, South Africa (14 November 2022) – A feral cat is always misunderstood but thankfully there are teams based all over South Africa that work to protect these misunderstood colonies. The Feral Cat Project Cape Town has been caring for its colonies since 2012.
Brenda Kerr founded the organisation after being called to a school to trap a cat with kittens. She realised the need for a compassionate organisation that would advocate for ferals and work to ensure they are protected.
Before long, Brenda had successfully set up feeding programmes and the team grew. It is easier to work with ferals when they realise they can trust humans. Trust is built by regularly feeding them and showing up for them. The main focus of the Feral Cat Project is Trap−Neuter−Return (TNR). This allows cats to continue to live in the safety of the colony, but stops the spread of disease and unwanted litters.
Many of these colonies can be made up of a mix of both true ferals (meaning the cat was born into the colony) or a lost/stray cat that wandered off or was dumped and found safety within the group. This is why if you ever have a cat go missing, check in with your local feral cat organisation, as they may see new cats within their colonies.
“The feeder gets to know the cats and can keep track of any newcomers to the colony. Any new cat is advertised on social media networks in case it is someone’s missing cat. Otherwise a TNR is planned to ensure the cat is sterilised.”
Brenda and her team have worked for a decade to build trust and help as many cats as possible. Each year, they aim to spay as many cats as they can. For the last 11 months, they have managed to sterilise 3638 cats. That is an incredible accomplishment and goes to show how dedicated the team is.
They go into some of Cape Town’s most dangerous areas, brave the elements and often put their own money into the care of the cats. These dedicated souls are heroes in our minds!
You can find out more about the Feral Cat Project via Facebook or the website.
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