Aloe Veterinary Clinic
Please contact Chrissie Jackson on 072 227-6746 if you are interested in helping with the feral cat or want to re-home a kitten.
BALLITO FERAL FEEDERS FOUNDATION
Our foundation was started in 2005 by a humble woman by the name of Brenda Shepherd.
Today its run by a group of volunteers that try to help felines on the North Coast.
Our main goal is to sterilize and control the populations of roaming cats in our cities and towns.
Cats have been around since ancient times, they were there as companions and were a form of rodent control.
But what many do not know is that just one cat can reproduce every 4 months, averaging litters of around 4 kittens.
The average breeding life span of a cat is 14 years. So 1 cat in just a two year period cat produce 24 kittens, who in turn
can produce around 112 kittens, and it continues.
Females can reproduce two to three times a year, and their kittens, if they survive, will become feral without early contact with people.
Cats can become pregnant as early as 5 months of age, and the number of cats rapidly increases without intervention by caring people.
Feral cats are the offspring of lost or abandoned pet cats or other feral cats who are not spayed or neutered.
They desecrate our native wild animal populations causing severe damage to rare and endangered species.
There are many reasons why feral cat problems are rarely solved by efforts to trap and remove them.
Feral cats live at a certain location because it offers food and shelter. If a colony is removed, some feral cats from surrounding colonies
may move in to take advantage of the newly available resources. The cycle of reproduction and nuisance behavior begins all over again.
This is where the problem lies. We all have a responsibility to have our animals sterilized and innoculated.
This stops unwanted litters born into a world that cant cope with these vast amounts of animals. The SPCA's and shelters are full to capacity
with lost pets and hundreds are euthanized monthly.
Feral cats typically live in a colony—a group of related cats. They do not easily allow other cats into their territories.
The colony occupies and defends a specific territory where food (a restaurant dumpster,
a person who feeds them) and shelter (beneath a patio, in an abandoned building) are available. Since feral cats typically fear strangers,
it is likely that people may not realize that feral cats are living nearby because the cats are rarely seen.
Our solution is simple and manageable. Sterilize the colonies, innoculate and euthanize sick or injured animals.
When feral cats are trapped, neutered and returned to their territory, they no longer reproduce, but still protest their territories.
This in turn helps other wildlife repopulate.
Our organization has a team of volunteers that feed at designated spots every night. This stops the cats from going hungry and hunting birds
and wildlife. So far we feed an average of 60-70 cats a night, all of whom are sterilized to date.
The colonies are closely monitored, for new arrivals and sick animals. The populations are stabilizing and slowly declining but without help
it would be impossible to control this problem.
Many people feel that the cats should be euthanized, that it would be cost effective. Even if there were enough people and money to remove
and euthanize feral cats, other feral cats would move into the vacant territory to take advantage of the food source and shelter now made available.
It's an endless cycle.
We practise trap, neuter and release -TNR. Any kittens that are trapped are tamed, and re homed. We charge a fee of R400 for a re homing fee which
covers the sterilization and vaccines.
This fee guarantees the sterilization of the kitten and helps in the solution to our country's plight.
Without TNR and the dedicated feeder's, the population of the colony would continue to increase. Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) is a strategy for improving the
lives of feral cats and reducing their numbers. At a minimum, feral cats who are TNRed are spayed or neutered so they can no longer reproduce, vaccinated
against rabies, and surgically ear-tipped on one ear (ear-tipping is the universally-recognized sign of a cat who has been TNRed). Trap-Neuter-Released is a
non-lethal strategy to reduce the number of feral cats and improve the quality of life for cats, birds, wildlife, and people.
We work with a group of 17 volunteers so that's not where the costs come into it. We rely on public donations to help out with TNR but with such large numbers
of cats needing to be fixed we just don't have the funds to accomplish our task.. Its the sterilizing and the food needed every night that costs so much,
we get a reduced fee from the vets through animal anti cruelty but this still gets very expensive.
Our organization to date has successfully re homed a staggering amount of 163 kittens.
In the past two years we have sterilized a total of 70 cats. That's a staggering amount considering only two of our full time volunteers know how to trap efficiently.
We have prevented approximately 420 unwanted births in one year alone with 34 females spayed. Can you imagine the wildlife destruction those amounts of cats could do.
We currently only have 4 traps to work with, but would love for more to be made. Our feral mommies nurse and bottle feed the abandoned newborns. They range from one day old to 6 weeks old, and need 2 hourly feedings day and night.
It starts with people like us to make a difference in today's society. Our organisation hopes to educate the public on how crucial it is to sterilize their pets.
Educating and inspiring people in our community to help make our homes a better place for future generations.
We change peoples lives everyday, but most of all the animals. We are finding solutions to a problem no one seems to want to fix.
We truly hope that you can help us make a difference in the lives of these cats. That's all we ask of you
We are improving and bettering our community, bringing joy to children who might just get their first pet.
