High-pitched purrs filled every corner of the modest room, as homeless kittens thrust their outstretched paws through cage bars in a playful manner.
Stevie sat up straight when he heard his carer’s soothing voice. Rolling on his back he reached out towards animal welfare officer June Laferla and grabbed hold of her hand.
The tiny 10-week-old grey kitten, named after the popular American singer Stevie Wonder, is blind.
He was found outside SPCA’s quarters in Floriana, in a plastic bucket. Suffering from a bad eye infection, the kitten was going to be put down by the vet, but Ms Laferla wanted to give him a second chance.
Stevie spent weekends at his carer’s home.
Currently, there are more than 70 kittens at the largest animal homing centre. During difficult times, the administration office is full of orphan kittens which need to be kept under constant supervision.
“The house is overflowing. Kittens that are too young to have left their mother and are fighting for survival need to be fed every two hours,” Sue Simons, fund-raising and communications manager, said.
“Some kittens were found dumped in skips or buried alive. Unfortunately, due to their very poor health condition, we’re bound to lose some, but we do everything possible to get them back on their paws,” she said.
SPCA carers even take pets home when they are done from work, so that they can keep them under supervision and feed them.
Ms Simons, who has been in Malta for 16 months, was sponsored by Dogs Trust UK to work with SPCA in Malta because of the “desperate situation that the homing centre is in”.
The SPCA relies totally on volunteers, which make up the larger part of its personnel, and donations.
The 135-year-old organisation is officially recognised by the Maltese government as the national animal welfare organisation.
“The government uses SPCA funds constantly, yet the NGO receives no financial support from the state. The government allocated some land for SPCA in Ta’ Qali so that we could build a new homing centre but we’re asking it to come up with the additional funds needed to build the centre. SPCA raised some funds but has a shortfall of €200,000,” she said.
The proposed home will be able to house more abandoned dogs and cats, which are at the moment being turned away. It will also have boarding facilities and house an educational centre.
“It’s heartbreaking to turn homeless animals away, especially since we wouldn’t know where they’ll end up,” Ms Simons said.
“No healthy dog or cat is put down. Some animals become residents, especially if they are too traumatised.
One of our oldest residents has been here for nine years,” Ms Simons said.
SPCA will be launching a Sponsor A Dog scheme, where people can sponsor a dog or a cat for €1 a week, and receive regular updates about the animal among others.
All cats and dogs adopted from SPCA are neutered and microchipped, and are mainly socialised and litter trained. Donations for cats are €40 while for dogs a donation of €50 is requested. The home is open between 10.30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday to Friday, and between 10 a.m. and noon on Saturday. Those interested can call on 2123 0468.
Anyone who wishs to contribute can send an SMS on 5061 7599 for a donation of €2.10; 5061 8199 for a donation of €4.19, 5061 8999 for a donation of €6.29 and 5061 9299 for a donation of €10.49.