Cat feeding practice getting out of hand

Martha Kane

Oct 14th 2010, 15:38

PART 2
Apart from all this we also take the heartbreaking decision of removing very sick cats from the colony which are put to sleep in order to keep the others and your area disease free . We invest in good quality food which does not attract flies and does not smell. There is nothing illegal about feeding near the street Ms Wagner since that's were these cats have been forced to live . People like us have homes full of cats which we took in to appease people like you but we cannot turn our backs on those left behind ,some still wearing the pretty collars that their owners bought them before the being kicked out. We will go on doing with what we're doing whether you like it or not ,so water your flowers Ms Wagner but make no mistake .Behind these cats there is an army of docile but dedicated people ready to defend the rights of these creatures so I would advise you to try and fit into the big picture and leave Mr Agius alone.

Martha Kane

Oct 14th 2010, 15:29

PART 1

I have so much to say to you Ms Wagner but you are wrong on so many points that I don't know where to begin but here goes.
First of all dear lady , people like us ( cat feeders) are called colony caretakers and we do not go around in a clandestine way otherwise
you would not have found out that it's Mr Agius who is feeding the cats.Most of us are very busy people ,some with health issues but who still find time for Gods creatures .Our function is not only to feed, but we are part of a national trap-neuter- and release programme which is funded by several organizations including the state who incidentally has just inaugurated a hospital which caters primarily for stray animals .Now I ask you Ms Wagner , what sense would there be for the state to pay for this programme if we are then going to starve them to death as is your wish ?

Emanuel Magrin

Sep 30th 2010, 21:42

David we are proud of you. Keep up the good work.
ALL MEMBERS
Saint Francis Foundation for Animals
www.saintfrancisfoundation.com

Dylan Agius

Sep 30th 2010, 11:59

part 2

If indeed she were an animal lover she wouldn't even think of mentioning legal action. If anything happens to try and stop this man, it's the cats who will suffer. And a genuine animal lover would never take such a risk. If a doctor who is a humanity lover, finds a serious illness in his patient, he wouldn't tell him that things have gotten out of hand and all is lost. Instead he will go through every remedy that modern science is capable of and try to find a way to save him. So. Ms. Wagner, whatever you think of this man, whatever the ailment is, the only solution between one animal lover to another is to look for a remedy and not cut off the life line. If you persist on your original way of thinking, a lot of harm may come out of it - some will affect this man's peace of mind but mostly will endanger the cats' meagre existence. And THAT would be a dramatic occurance indeed because there are very few animal lovers around who would be able to take his place.

Dylan Agius

Sep 30th 2010, 11:37

There's a good thing going at Swieqi. A man has taken it upon himself at no small expense to take care of a bulk of the stray cat colony there. I'm not surprised that the authorities are reluctant to look at the legal side because he is doing a service to the community for free. He's feeding them, nursing them, sheltering them and preventing them from overpopulating the area. He misses meetings, business, leisure and a million other things because he's dedicated to this cause and gives it his highest priority. Some of his closest friends (and I'm proud to be one them) don't quite understand this zeal but they admire him for it. Some people care for their fellow men and we call them missionaries. David feels good caring for animals and we call him a law breaker. Would it be a blasphemy if I venture to call him the Mother Theresa of the animal world?
If by some remote chance he's not 100% perfect in his endeavours, then the proper way to go about it is to find remedies., not to try and finish him off. I'm afraid Ms. Wagner's motive for her complaints are not altogether sincere.

joseph agius

Sep 28th 2010, 22:04

Friends, locals, countrymen: lend Ms. Wagner your ears! The ides of October are at hand and a most dramatic event will indeed occur. The cats in question are trained terrorists and will invade Ms. Wagner's home and blow up her piano. Alas; all music lovers will hear Wagner's tunes no more and Malta will shrink back into the Dark Ages.
This animal feeder is a menace. He attacks plants with criquettes, shows his unmanicured fingers to every passer-by (yuk!) and indoctrinates cats in the dubious art of suicide bombing. And what's worse, he moans and graons - a sure sign of devil possession. Burn him at the stake I say.
All you animal lovers; shame on you! Can't you see you're upsetting Ms Wagner who only wantsto save the world from filth and rats? Actually, Ms. Wagner, I think you should give up your piano playing and turn to pied piping instead. Then you can lead all the rats out of Swieqi and we'll come in our thousands to watch them drown in St. Julian's Bay.
Let's all be law-abiding and let all strays waste in the streets...sorry, have to go - dinner's ready...anyone for croquettes?

emanuel magrin

Sep 27th 2010, 19:36

@ Ms Wagner;-

TAKE MY ADVICE AND GET A LIFE.

Steven Delicata

Sep 27th 2010, 12:24

I am afraid I cannot beleive Ms Wagner as I have known David for over 24 years. He is a very much dedicated animal lover who will go to the extreme not to even kill a FLY. I have been with him to the places where he feeds the cats in swieqi. The place is always clean and no mess is left. I visited the feeding place (by the way, its a field and not infront of Ms Wagner's residence) and the cat food is placed in containers which are cleaned everyday.
David has also neutered all the cats in the swieqi area so as not to have a larger colony of cats to the detriment of the CAT HATERS.

A Bajada

Sep 26th 2010, 13:09

Madam, I've known the person you are referring to for close to half a century and find it impossible to believe your side of events. He dedicates his free time and much more to the well being of these unfortunate creatures. In fact he cannot (and won't) take a short holiday. Although no great feline fan myself, I've come to realise the great sacrifice this person is making for these unintentionally adopted friends. The least you can do is to be more compassionate. After all, what goes round comes round!

Joe Xuereb

Sep 25th 2010, 21:54

2) .........to keep him out. His coat turned reddish-brown until it grew out. The neighbour on the other side installed barbed-wire under the foliage on the dividing fence. My little huge Boubou climbed the fence and ended up with abscesses right down his back-bone. I love him still after 21 years. The cruel neighbours - they're rotting in hell for all I care. And if not, they will. I know this for he that loves not animals, their life is a living hell.
Because I don't have nice neighbours like lucky Ms. Wagner, I spend time here at my lap-top or in Holland Park or the Thames Embankment, feeding squirrels and pigeons. They, the pigeons in particular, don't leave a scrap for the rats. Cats, maybe, leave a little food after they've had their fill, to entice the rats and then, hey presto! - and not a dangerous sprung trap in sight; and to annoy moaning and groaning lace-curtain twitchers.

Joe Xuereb

Sep 25th 2010, 21:33

1) Dylan Chircop, decades ago I too went for a hike just outside Qormi. There, in a cave, was the rotting carcass of a huge female pig, swarming with thousands of huge blue-bottle flies. I've since had fantasies of dousing the dead pig with petrol, seal the entrance to the cave, and somehow set the carcass alight and enjoy the sound of thousands of dangerous, filthy flies dying. In real life of course I wouldn't have the courage. But I do hate filth and rats.
Clipping this animal, neutering the other, loving them all - to me it sounds like loving them to death more like, for selfish reasons.
Marie Wagner. The cat-feeder was moaning and groaning you say? Are you sure you're not giving him qualities he doesn't deserve?
Feeding stray cats is fine just so long as the feed is regulated. No leftovers for unwanted vermin (rats) and unhealthy rotting second-helpings for the same colony of cats.
I had a cat once, a very good mouse/rat-catcher. One neighbour, a Chinese takeaway outlet on my left, threw a pan of hot chip-oil at him to keep him out.
continued.

joe falzon

Sep 25th 2010, 21:20

@ kathryn schembri......well said!....what Ms wagner should complain about are the not-stray dogs and horses that are taken ouyside to poop -poop all the way down the street. the owners should be forced to pick up after them!

Annie COrkett

Sep 25th 2010, 21:17

Well who else is going to feed them. A bunch of starving cats on every street ccorner is really going to attract the tourists.

Rosalind Agius

Sep 25th 2010, 19:00

Wow, what a great letter. This really does impress us! Well done to everyone who feeds strays.

Dylan Chircop

Sep 25th 2010, 16:46

Wow I had no idea this was illegal, anyways I don't care. I feed stray cats and will keep on doing it. This is something good to do. 3 days ago I was hiking in a valley in Qormi, apart from the rubbish I saw which included trolleys, computers, syringes and dead animals, I managed to rescue a little kitten which is now in a convent in Rabat. Littering should be inforced to be illegal because there are much more vandals in our country than cat feeders( life savers since cats are also God's creatures). This country needs a new mentality. I have a question, can I call someone such as the local counsil or something like that to clean messy areas such as Wied Hanzir in Qormi, because it looks like a place in Pakistan, no wildlife, they removed the vegetation and there is a massive amount of garbage and hazard.

Franco Farrugia

Sep 25th 2010, 16:43

However, let me put one thing clear - however much I like feeding stray cats and however much I believe that cats should be fed - I still believe that cat-feeders should be moderate, in the way they present and leave food to be eaten by the stray cats, as well as the type of food they leave out. Ideally - and I repeat, ideally! - cat-feeders should wait till the cats have come to eat and then take the remaining food away. But we do not live in an ideal world: otherwise, this letter would not have been written. Also, we should avoid bringing in stray cats into an argument that usually involves ... ehmm.... let me put it this way, to be nice ... divergent opinions between neighbours. Enough said.

D. Cordina

Sep 25th 2010, 16:34

Dear Ms. Wagner, please enlighten us with the exact law where it states that 'feeding stray cats on the streets is illegal'.......just so that now 'most people will know it'. I guess I didn't study law so this particular piece of legislation must have slipped my mind. Was it a law? A legal notice? It would make an interesting read. Just give me the chapter number and if you know the law very well, maybe even pinpoint me to the section.

every so often we get one such letter which I would respect only if it was targeted at the people who do not clean after them (actions not related strictly to feeding cats but also to Sunday picnics etc). I would respect a letter which says - feed cats (everyone deserves to eat) but clean after you.

Stray cats have a hard enough life. All they need is legislation saying they cannot be fed.

Emanuel Magrin

Sep 25th 2010, 16:01

@ All.

Enjoy reading:-

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8219384

kathryn schembri

Sep 25th 2010, 15:56

Oh dear your little world of utter cleanliness is being disrupted by cats....they leave so much filth behind don't they dear? just like the poor soul who is trying to keep them alive. We have people where I live who also out of the goodness of their hearts make sure that the cats are fed. Infact my cat Molly came from this area as a kitten as I wanted to give a stray a good home. What is disgusting is the bucket yes I said bucket of kittens that we found still with umbilical cords thrown in the garbage behind our parish church. The dear lady (we are 99 per cent sure) that we know who did it was probably on her way to 6.00am mass. Oh so typical.....
Clean away to your hearts content luvvy....just leave the cats alone and turn a blind eye by getting a life and really looking at what constitutes filth on this island.

Emanuel Magrin

Sep 25th 2010, 15:37

@ Alex Ciantar.

Sir you left out a very important point leading to the whole problem. The irrisponsible people who abandon these poor creatures should be rounded up and not the cats. Even rounding up all the cats would not solve the problem since other cats would be abandoned by irresponsible humans. The people who show compassion towards these unfortunate creatures should be praised and not condemmned.

David Agius

Sep 25th 2010, 14:22

I am preparing a letter to give my version of events leading to this ufortunate situation.

joe falzon

Sep 25th 2010, 13:47

one should not put food behind people's property. a neutral place --as far as possible--should be used for feeding. My wife and I leave the food behind our own door.....However, let's not take it out on the cats. The strays on the street are our own fault and we are therefore responsible for them....What is the alternative? '' Felix-o-cide? And then when the rodents start increasing we start crying : A cat! A cat! My kingdom for a cat!' remember, cats have no boundaries and no matter where you feed them a cat will trespass sooner or later! I too have a garden which is my hobby and it has become one big litterbox for them! Dig a hole in a stadium-sized field and that where the cat will -- well, you know! And in January my garden become one big tryst for them....Still, when they come to your door and look at you with their twinking eyes and smiling faces --- how can you not feed them? How can one dream of poisoning them or hurting them in any way. If we can put up with the malice of man, we can put up with a cat's mischief!

Alex Ciantar

Sep 25th 2010, 13:29

Why not simply call the RSPCA to come and collect the cats - No cats nothing to feed therefore man needs not come again as there are no cats to feed - So problem solved!!!

A. Fernandez

Sep 25th 2010, 12:15

Dear Ms. Wagner. Feeding cats does not attract rats, it keeps them away. And although it annoys me somewhat, I'd rather clean up the mess made by cats than have to deal with a rat problem... but I don't live in Swieqi, so I have no idea what you have to put up with... but at the end of the day, better cats than rats.

As to your friends, one is a dog person - so she probably prefers dogs over cats, and the other could have given several healthy animals a chance, or perhaps even to get strays spayed and neutered, with the time and money spent on the sick one, instead of picking that one up to make herself/himself feel good. On the other hand, at least something was done for one.

As you brought up the subject of micro-chipping - it has actually been found to cause tumours around the microchips. As animal lovers, they should know that.

The behaviour of the man you described, is inexcusable. Was he seen trespassing?

@ Pat Muscat: I think that in Malta, we have other "animals" to thank for the lack of birds.

Franco Farrugia

Sep 25th 2010, 12:08

Lots of bull!

Gerry Cowie

Sep 25th 2010, 11:39

You should go to Ta 'Xbiex, in particular Ir Rampa ta Ta' Xbiex where, as you go up in the direction of the Italian Embassy from the Gzira end, boasts a bowl of rotting fish heads, pieces of dried cat food and plenty of faeces.

James A. Tyrrell

Sep 25th 2010, 11:32

I have to say that I have been coming to Gozo for years and have never seen a rat or a mouse and I assume that is because the cats keep them under control. We all work for a living and expect to get paid for that work. The stray cats are also doing a job and I think the least they deserve is someone showing a little kindness towards them in return.

Emanuel Magrin

Sep 25th 2010, 11:31

@ ALL

The problem of strays was created by humans. These cats did not simply fall from the sky.
Your guns should be aimed at the people who abandoned them and not at the poor animals.
They have a right to live just as every human being. For everyone's information the present Pope Benedict is a cat feeder himself and feeds hundreds of cats around the vatican and elsewhere. You should try to ponder of this statement by St. Francis of Assisi.

"Not to hurt our humble brethren (the animals) is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission: to be of service to them whenever they require it. If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men."

-St. Francis of Assisi-

Emanuel Magrin
President
Saint Francis Foundation for Animals (SFFA Malta)
www.saintfrancisfoundation.com

gcForte

Sep 25th 2010, 11:13

2...Now if nobody do not feed these cats, please be kind enough and tell me what will happen ? Do you think that they die of hunger ? Do you think that they will evaporate ? I must tell you that we are egoists and for our benefits we took the land to build our houses and we are pushing them to a limited space. God created the animals before " what so called human being ". God created the cats so it goes with the circle of life, to minimize the rats. A female rat can produce four times a year with 8 to 10 small ones every time, and they survive all of them. A cat produces two times a year with 4 to 6 little ones, and if they are lucky only 2 survive. In a normal situation if you leave a rat couple, between them and their small ones will produce 1.4 million rats in 1 and a half years. So imagine if we get rids of the stray cats. We cannot use our domestic cats, So, Marie Wagner, go and solve your dispute with this stupid man,and let the cats alone.

Muscat Pat

Sep 25th 2010, 10:55

The same thing happened at the university; full of cats but no birds, no lizards, no vipers no snakes !

gcForte

Sep 25th 2010, 10:50

1....Marie Wagner.............First of all, do not generate, if you have a problem with a person, the cats are not to blame, because we go to the toilet because somebody thought us to do so, so you have to teach the cats the cats to come to an adequate place, where you do not annoy people like you. You said that is is illegally to feed the stray animals,can you please enlighten me which law stipulate this. For your information, the law says that nobody can dirty public areas. Even if you are throwing water in front of your door TO CLEAN, it is against the law if you do not sweep it dry. So, if you do not bother and keep clean all the time where you feed the stray cats, nobody will complains.

a licari

Sep 25th 2010, 10:38

I am informed that the police warned a person in Triq il-Gejza, Swieqi for the same reasons. I suppose that ignoring their warning would lead to court action.