‘Cat café’ for St Vincent de Paul strays

Following complaints about the treatment of stray cats at the St Vincent de Paul elderly home, Animal Guardians NGO said it reached a compromise agreement with the facility, which will include the establishment of a ‘cat café’

 The 'no feed cats' sign that was affixed at St Vincent de Paul
The 'no feed cats' sign that was affixed at St Vincent de Paul

After putting pressure on St Vincent de Paul elderly home to be more sensitive towards the stray cats that enter into the premises, the Animal Guardians NGO has announced that a ‘cat café’ will be set up around the premises of the elderly home, and that all the cats that are found in the area will be micro-chipped and registered.

Earlier this week, the animal welfare directorate confirmed that animal welfare officers were at Saint Vincent de Paul Residence “to catch” three kittens that had entered one of the wards.

Director Lawrence Buhagiar said that the directorate had received a call from the staff requesting their assistance to relocate the three kittens.

“Two of the kittens were soon released in the same perimeter of SVPR whilst the third kitten needed some medical care and was therefore taken to Ċentru San Franġisk for the necessary treatment,” Buhagiar said.

The clarification follows a statement issued by Animal Guardians Malta which claimed that the SVPR management had “called in men with cages and removed cats from around the building”, and that this amounted to “animal abuse”.

But in a statement issued today, a spokesperson for Animal Guardians said that with the help of the Commissioner for Animal Rights Emanuel Buhagiar, “the issue of the stray cats and kittens which have been living for years in the grounds of St Vincent De Paul has been resolved”.

The NGO added that the proposals for a cat café and other stray-friendly initiatives were accepted by the CEO of St Vincent de Paule Josianne Cutajar, following a meeting with Buhagiar and members of the NGO.

“A cat café will be set up, in a section of land at St Vincent de Paul, which area will be enclosed by a neat fence and gate, in which all cats or kittens will be placed,” the NGO said, adding that the management of the area will be the responsibility of a volunteer team from St Vincent de Paul.

Additionally, all the cats will be neutered and micro-chipped, courtesy of Vetplus Animal Clinic in co-ordination with Paws Malta.

However, Animal Guardians also called upon the St Vincent de Paul administration to explain where the cats and kittens taken from the premises were left, and to ensure that “they shall all be brought back to their home, to join the others in their new area”.