Volunteers from the Cats of Durban organisation warn that a cat poisoner is operating near the Old Fort Chapel Gardens.
|||Durban - A callous cat killer is at work in Durban and the poisoner has already claimed two lives.
Another cat - a female called Bandit - was found near death and is now on life support at a vet. It is touch and go whether she will survive.
Volunteers from the Cats of Durban organisation have been told the sick cat ingested an organophosphate-type substance, an ingredient commonly found in insecticides.
“It is highly unlikely that a cat would eat pesticide by accident, so the only deduction is that the insecticide was mixed with cat food and placed near the spot where the cats are commonly fed,” said Cats of Durban’s outraged founder, Nikki Moore.
Now, as Moore and her volunteers gather evidence against the culprit, a warning has been issued that the poisoner is operating near the Old Fort Chapel Gardens in KE Masinga (Old Fort) Road, Durban.
The claws are out too as the organisation has vowed it “will not hesitate to lay charges” against the poisoner.
Poisoning a cat, or even threatening to poison a cat, is an offence under the Animal Protection Act 71 of 1962 and carries a prison sentence of three years, or a R60 000 fine, Moore warned.
Cats of Durban looks after the well-being of stray and feral cats in the city, with the municipality supporting the establishment of managed cat colonies in the city’s open spaces as a vermin-control measure “because feral cats kill rats and mice and cockroaches”, Moore explained.
The managed colony that lives on the open ground around the Old Fort Chapel have been sterilised and is fed by Cats of Durban volunteer, Owen O’Neill.
A few weeks ago, he found a container of raw mince near his feeding station and destroyed it, deducing the meat had been poisoned. Then, last week, two of the cats he fed were found dead and Bandit was found near death.
O’Neill said he was particularly fond of one of the cats and it would take him a long time to get over her death, he said.
* If you know anything about the poisoning, contact Cats of Durban at 031 205 8331.
Daily News