10 000 cats sterilised in 10 years!

GEORGE NEWS - Ten thousand cats in 10 years.

That's how many the George-based Cat Assistance Team (Cat) Garden Route sterilised in its first decade.

"It's 10 351, to be precise," says founder Rita Brock. "And that's not counting the 400 we did in the first three months of this year."

So how does this animal welfare warrior feel? "Exhausted!" she says. "But proud and still looking to the future."

The cat crusade began at Tears Animal Rescue in Cape Town. Brock - up to then a dog person - went into the organisation's cattery.

"A cat came running to me," she remembers. "And I suddenly thought, 'Who's taking care of them?'"

Inspired, Brock established South Africa's first feral cat unit. "We were able to clean up the naval base at Simon's Town," she says.

"And I did a huge amount of work at the Pollsmoor Prison in Tokai. That was scary at times: try going into a maximum security prison as a woman on your own. But the prisoners loved the cats, so it was worth it."

Move to the Garden Route

Brock became the general manager of the Knysna Animal Welfare Society. Among her achievements was the municipality's first animal cruelty conviction. "That was night after night in the dark, photographing the most horrible things, and crying," she shudders.

Now a fully-fledged cat lady, Brock founded Cat in 2016. From day one, its top priority has been sterilisation. "Working in welfare lets you see the best and worst in people," she says.

"The real problem we face is that there are simply too many animals and not enough money or homes to care for them. That means animals are neglected, hungry, treated as pests, and not cared for when they're sick or injured."

Cat estimates that its first decade's 10 000-plus sterilisations have saved about 3.3 million kittens from being born.

Volunteers

Incredibly, much of this work is carried out by two volunteers. Uschi Peuckert handles most of the rural and feral cats, while Coriza Vermeulen seeks out sterilisation candidates in George. Before their arrival, Brock was in the field herself every day, culminating in a pioneering mission to the Kruger Park.

"Cat came together with two other groups to stop the cross-breeding of 'regular' cats with the African wild cat. Preserving these beautiful creatures is one of our proudest achievements."

With Cat celebrating its 10th anniversary on Saturday 9 May, does Brock see the group lasting for another decade? "The work we do takes a toll physically, mentally and financially," she admits.

"But as long as the George community supports us with donations, we'll do our best to keep going. And animal welfare isn't something you give up. As long as we're breathing, we're caring for cats."

Keep up with Cat's activities on Facebook. To learn more about their work and how to support it, visit catgardenroute.com.A local veterinarian, Dr Suzanne Muller (left), and cat hero, Rita Brock, during a spayathon.