NOUPOORT NEWS - Courtney Stassen of Noupoort Animal Care (NAC) is working hard to control problems experienced with feral cats in the area.

Stassen founded the organisation ten years ago. The increasing feral cat problem came to her attention a few years later, and she was strongly against the common practice of trapping and euthanizing these cats. 

She introduced a method of trapping and then sterilising the cats, and initially kept them in a volunteer's outside room. "Ferals are almost impossible to rehome, as most of them have never been handled," explained Stassen.

Her work with the cats escalated last February, when she received a plea for help from a woman who lives near Hanover. Stassen and her team visited the town and managed to trap six of the cats, which were taken in by a Middelburg welfare group as NAC had no facilities of its own.

The problem grew in Hanover, and in Noupoort. To accommodate more of the threatened cats, Stassen has constructed a cattery. This has cost about R30 000 to date, and she is now looking for funds to build an extension with a grassed enclosure. 

"I am already growing the grass for this, as we want to give the cats the chance to be outside as well," she said.

Erma Voigt of CSI in Graaff-Reinet has helped by fundraising towards the sterilisation of these cats, and other local cat-lovers have also become involved.

"The best thing for ferals is to trap, sterilise, and release if possible," said Stassen, adding that they do have a role to play in rodent control. 

"Unfortunately there are those in the community who see them as pests and stone or poison them, and I only took the original ferals from Hanover in because the lady feared for their lives. Sadly, I often hear about selfish people, who first feed the ferals, but when the numbers grow, they panic and expect rescues to 'make a plan'. There are only so many plans one can make."

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