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Feral cat support needed BY GERALD FORD Uncontrolled cat breeding in Wairarapa is now becoming a health problem for people, according to the founder of a neutering programme for semiferal cats. Lee Priday of Wairarapa Community Kitties says the organisation is now tackling a semi-feral cat colony in Masterton near the hospital and in Queen Elizabeth Park. “Cats have given ringworm to children in the area,” she said. WCK began as Featherston Community Kitties in autumn and is filling a vacuum caused by the closure several years ago of the cat shelter at Wairarapa SPCA, and the more recent closing of the rehoming organisation Q’s Zoo. “In the whole of Wairarapa no one is doing any desexing, so the problem is getting out of hand,” Lee said. “One cat can have 100 kittens in her lifetime, and if all of those are then breeding, it becomes a frightening mathematical problem. “If people are finding abandoned kitties we can help, and get them fostered out and rehomed (but) we ask people to look after them until they can find a home,” Lee said. “People can’t surrender any more – there’s no SPCA or Q’s Zoo.” Lee and a few volunteers practise Trap, Neuter, Return, which Lee says is “recognised all over the world as a way to
Lee Priday of Wairarapa Community Kitties with a trapped cat and her ÿ ve kittens.
manage semi-feral cats”, in the towns of Wairarapa. This involves catch traps and the use of vets to de-sex the cats that are caught. WCK is also doing its best to rehome kittens, or semi-feral or abandoned cats which have a suitable
temperament. The organisation was given a boost shortly after its founding when US charity Start, which rescues dogs from high kill shelters and to which Lee had been donating, pledged $5800 towards neutering cats.
PHOTO/SUPPLIED
That money has now been spent and the organisation is embarked on a fundraising campaign. There will be a sausage sizzle at The Warehouse this weekend, October 21 and 22, and WCK will also be at the Clareville
A&P Show at the Pet section on Saturday and Sunday, October 29 and 30, where they will be selling raffle tickets. Find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ wairarapacommunitykitties/
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