Is your lost cat at Wied Incita? (2)

It was good to read that stray cats are being removed from public gardens.

Let us hope that it will soon be the turn of the Independence Garden in Sliema to be rid of these cats, or at least to have their presence there controlled to manageable proportions.

Cats, like so many other animals, are beautiful creatures and should never be left to fend for themselves and suffer maltreatment in the process.

No-one objects when cats are adopted and taken into homes as pets by families, who feed them, give them shelter and love.

On the other hand the behaviour of some feeders of cats, self-appointed do-gooders (at some time or other of the day, one finds several of these at Independence Garden), is unacceptable.

Theirs is sheer arrogance and lack of consideration for so many who go to relax with a book, or with just their thoughts, in the garden. Cat food is strewn under benches, with the result that food left uneaten by the cats becomes stale and rots, produces unpleasant smells, pollutes the paving and attracts swarms of flies to it.

Combined with all this there is an all-pervading smell of cat urine, what with such a great number of cats roaming about doing nothing but eat, sleep and breed more cats.

A visit to Independence Garden is no longer a pleasant experience since all the rules made for its enjoyment by all are being broken regularly with impunity.