Cat control, the 'Danish' way

It is breakfast time at the Mellieha Holiday Centre, but it is not only the Danish guests that are being served their food.

In the countryside that surrounds what is also known as the Danish Village and is part of its extensive natural premises, the stray cat community is also being fed... and kept under control at the same time.

The tourists are not the only ones to have a choice of catering outlets. In fact, the holiday centre is the local pioneer of what are referred to as cat cafés. These are designated feeding stations that have been set up at various points on the hotel grounds, away from the restaurants, to keep the stray cat population at bay while allowing the operation to benefit from the advantages of having them around. The cats ward off rodent populations, without having to resort to the use of poison, controlling the situation in a balanced way.

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, together with the Society for the Protection and Care of Animals, have joined forces to promote the successful Mellieha Holiday Centre model in other hotels and areas around the islands.

It is no secret that the country is plagued by a stray animal problem which, apart from other things, does little to enhance tourist areas, said MHRA representative Anthony Gatt and SPCA president Barbara Cassar Torreggiani.

Having cats that are literally knocking on death's door, roaming the streets, scavenging and ripping up garbage bags is more reminiscent of Third World countries than tourist areas, they said.

The SPCA cannot understand how no one does anything about the situation, especially when the cat café system is such a simple construction and an effective idea.

Both associations are pushing for the setting up of cat cafés at hotels, where the stray animals would be neutered, vaccinated, fed at established times, monitored and, therefore, kept under control and healthy.

The scheme - a win-win initiative - is designed to keep everyone happy: those who like cats; those who do not; and the hotel owners, they said.

Hotels are being invited to contact the MHRA to organise a meeting in January, and the aim is to have 10 establishments operating a cat café on their grounds by the end of March, with a further 20 by the end of June.

Both the tourism and environment ministries are supporting the initiative and have offered to sponsor the first five establishments to have their cat cafés up and running.

Indeed, the subject hits both tourism and the environment.

"More than anything, it is an environment issue, which is everyone's responsibility, but which the island has failed to address," an enthusiastic Michelle Borg from the SPCA insisted.

And hoteliers have to recognise the importance of their immediate environment. "Having unsightly cats roaming around does not do much for their image.

"The approach to and surrounding environment of a property is very important. But, unfortunately, the Maltese seem to be concerned only with what lies within their door," said Mellieha Holiday Centre operations manager Marika Micallef.

Even hotels in built-up areas could set up a cat café, she said.

Speaking about the Danish Village experience, its managing director Flemming Jensen said the idea started to be developed over 20 years ago, and 10 years ago professional assistance was brought over from Denmark to give the hotel direction in its aim to control the problem.

Since then, its cat cafés have come a long way. The holiday centre's 80-strong community of wild cats, which are treated as such and not as pets, are naturally "confined" to specific points on the grounds, where they are practically a tourist attraction.

"We take care of the cats, and the guests are not pestered by them anymore. The idea is to create a balanced living. And they have almost become a feature," said Ms Micallef.

Guests go and feed them and repeat visitors return to see what they call their "own" cat. They can foster the animals, even contribute food, and guest relations are built in that way, she maintained.

The doctored cats look more like domesticated and pampered pets than wild animals - healthy, fluffy and well behaved.

It was a pity, however, that people were irresponsible and even dumped their pet cats in the area, including Persians, which needed to be groomed and ended up in terrible conditions, Ms Micallef continued.

The identified areas at the Mellieha Holiday Centre include a shelter, where the cats can be fed by tourists, and a room closed with a metal grille and a cat flap, where they are fed by staff and are protected from the elements and other threats. The holiday centre has three cat cafés and is in the process of setting up a fourth. "All you need to do is identify a carer to feed them, establish the numbers and get them neutered so that the numbers can be controlled," Ms Micallef explained.

The SPCA is willing to offer consultation on how and where to set up the cafés and how to catch the cats to have them spayed, although it would not be able to foot the cost of neutering.

The hotels can come to various arrangements with vets, Ms Borg explained, envisaging that in 10 years' time, the stray cat population could be completely controlled and cats would no longer roam the streets but live in gardens.

Doctoring cats in colonies was also important, she insisted. It is useless feeding them and making them healthy, without addressing the issue of control, which leads to their protection.

Eventually, the idea is to adapt the hotel policy to housing estates and work on a local council level too.