Stray cats at Argotti (1)

As a horticulturalist and a cat enthusiast I find it intriguing when people ask me to help in such situations. Do I go for the cats or the garden?

I definitely stand in defence of the cats mainly because cats are territorial animals and suffer much when removed from their 'place', while potted plants (especially the plants at Argotti) do not mind at all being moved carefully. Their environment could easily be reproduced practically anywhere.

However, I am not advocating that the plants be moved (say, to St Philip's Garden) but the cats should never be taken away as happened cruelly to those cats at the Upper Barracca and San Anton Gardens (not to mention the cruel poisoning of cats at Old Railway Station, Birkirkara, and St Venera gardens).

If any movement has to take place it should be carried out by experts - at an expense. Even so I am not excluding that there will not be any accidents, i.e. some cats take it so much to heart that they completely lose their appetite and consequently die. Some take longer to adjust than others, but the end result is death

More than one compromise exists. One should protect the plants by not allowing the cats to inflict any damage while paying attention not to cause any harm to the cats which keep rodent population explosions at bay (incidentally the rodents do the most serious damage). One method is to enclose the whole plant area and make it cat-proof.

Nowadays there are various materials that blend into the environs. Any seedbeds could easily be made unattractive to cats by either covering them with wire mesh or sprayed with citronella, a substance which cats hate to be near. Not all cats inflict damage to plants, especially if they are neutered and the number could very easily be drastically reduced by training the cats to use litter trays which I am sure cat lovers will make a point to keep clean.

It is also important to keep the cats well fed (as the plants are). Who is to discriminate against the cats? Who has the authority to do so? Cats are also protected by law. No one may 'move' a cat away from its environment; no one can force a brave lady from feeding cats in a proper way. Thus to keep as many living creatures as possible happy (us included) a compromise is the best solution.

As the government pays millions to decorate the streets and keep gardens colourful with plants, why not establish cats' corners in all gardens? If these 'corners' are equipped with fresh water, resting furniture and feeding section it will be a great attraction to the many tourists and locals alike. The authorities will be praised. A case in point is the Independence Garden in Sliema where there is a Cat Café approved by the local council.

Therefore, the same way that at a busy junction where both pedestrians (have to cross) and cars meet we neither prohibit people to cross nor disallow cars to be driven there - instead we compromise by painting a zebra crossing - at Argotti we should not do something stupid by removing either the plants, or worse, the cats. The compromise for cars and people is a controlled crossing path: for cats and gardens, a corner for cats. At Argotti it is even simpler by enclosing the botanical part by a modern cat-proof fence.

Another point in favour of a compromise is that if one dared to remove the cats one would not only not solve the problem (for other cats will take the place of the removed cats, eventually, and we will be back where we started) but also will create a confrontation with hundreds of cat lovers, including tourists.