Swakopmund’s rodent patrol’s days are numbered

THE Swakopmund branch of the Cat Protection Society (CPS) suffered a blow recently when the Swakopmund Town Council decided to get rid of the largest of the town’s five feral cat colonies.

The colony at the municipal bungalows consists of 18 cats, which – according to claims by the Council – are becoming a nuisance and a health risk. There are four other cat colonies living at various locations in the town.They are the Lighthouse, Jetty, Caravan Park and Amtsgericht colonies – the latter being the second largest colony of 14 cats, which live around the building used by the Municipality’s health department.Swakopmund has a total of about 44 feral cats being cared for by the CPS.The decision came as a shock to Karene Brewis of the CPS at Swakopmund, who has been diligently caring for the cats and controlling their numbers for four years.She told The Namibian that when she started her charity work in 2003, there were 93 feral cats.The number has been reduced by more than half, and her sterilisation programme has played a big role in this.The Namibian tried to contact the General Manager of Health Services, Clive Lawrence, but he was off sick.How Council intends removing the cats – and to where – is unclear.Brewis fears the worst, though.She visits all the colonies daily to feed the cats.When they hear her car, the cats can be seen crawling out of bushes and ditches to meet her.She feeds them, and when necessary administers medication.She also gives them clean water.All costs are borne by CPS donors and volunteers, and not the municipality.Brewis says she can’t understand why the cats are considered a nuisance.According to her, people are in favour of what she is doing for the cats, and there has been no negative feedback so far.She said that there may well be holidaymakers who ask why the cats are allowed at the bungalows and visitors are not allowed to bring their own pets on holiday with them.”Some of these cats have been living at the bungalows for nearly 10 years.They are the first line of defence against rats trying to migrate into the town from the riverbed,” she said.A LONG HISTORY She explained that cats have a long history at Swakopmund.They’ve been around since 1897, when 30 of them were shipped to Swakopmund from Cape Town to fight a rat infestation that had caused an outbreak of typhus fever.Ever since the cats’ arrival, the dreaded disease has not returned to Swakopmund, according to her.”Now the cats are still around doing their work and they’re not even getting paid for it.There are still huge rats in and around Swakopmund, but the cats keep them under control, and many people have noticed that.”Now the Municipality wants to say that the cats are becoming a health risk,” she said.”These cats are the only eco-friendly vermin control programme in the area.”There are four other cat colonies living at various locations in the town.They are the Lighthouse, Jetty, Caravan Park and Amtsgericht colonies – the latter being the second largest colony of 14 cats, which live around the building used by the Municipality’s health department.Swakopmund has a total of about 44 feral cats being cared for by the CPS.The decision came as a shock to Karene Brewis of the CPS at Swakopmund, who has been diligently caring for the cats and controlling their numbers for four years.She told The Namibian that when she started her charity work in 2003, there were 93 feral cats.The number has been reduced by more than half, and her sterilisation programme has played a big role in this.The Namibian tried to contact the General Manager of Health Services, Clive Lawrence, but he was off sick.How Council intends removing the cats – and to where – is unclear.Brewis fears the worst, though.She visits all the colonies daily to feed the cats.When they hear her car, the cats can be seen crawling out of bushes and ditches to meet her.She feeds them, and when necessary administers medication.She also gives them clean water.All costs are borne by CPS donors and volunteers, and not the municipality.Brewis says she can’t understand why the cats are considered a nuisance.According to her, people are in favour of what she is doing for the cats, and there has been no negative feedback so far.She said that there may well be holidaymakers who ask why the cats are allowed at the bungalows and visitors are not allowed to bring their own pets on holiday with them.”Some of these cats have been living at the bungalows for nearly 10 years.They are the first line of defence against rats trying to migrate into the town from the riverbed,” she said.A LONG HISTORY She explained that cats have a long history at Swakopmund.They’ve been around since 1897, when 30 of them were shipped to Swakopmund from Cape Town to fight a rat infestation that had caused an outbreak of typhus fever.Ever since the cats’ arrival, the dreaded disease has not returned to Swakopmund, according to her.”Now the cats are still around doing their work and they’re not even getting paid for it.There are still huge rats in and around Swakopmund, but the cats keep them under control, and many people have noticed that.”Now the Municipality wants to say that the cats are becoming a health risk,” she said.”These cats are the only eco-friendly vermin control programme in the area.”