Dear Editor,
Being a cat lover on holiday, I noticed the Algarve was a place of many cats.
I thought that was lovely and naively assumed they belonged to somebody, but eventually it dawned on me that there were rather a lot of them – and they were mostly street cats, either stray or feral cats.
As beautiful as the Algarve coast is, amongst all this loveliness there were all these cats, living with little or no assistance from humans – and multiplying out of control.
I did a little research. Feral cats are a species bred in ignorance by humans not dealing with the sterilisation of their pets. The biggest challenge is the education of us, the public, to spay and neuter our pets.
An unspayed female and her offspring can be responsible for the birth of 420,000 kittens in a seven-year period, condemning all to a life of misery. Rounding up the cats and dumping them elsewhere, killing them or ignoring the problem is not the answer for a largely compassionate civilised society – it also affects the tourist trade!
Caring people believe feral cats have a right to life. They have the right to be free from starvation and the right to be spayed or neutered. I am a caring person!
While I was on holiday, I came across Mr No Ears, a fully grown, pure white cat; quite a character with one eye and no ears. Known fondly to visitors as ‘The Lion King of Albufeira’, he is one of a small colony of healthy looking stray and feral cats living on the walls overlooking the beach in Albufeira, who were being fed and watered by a volunteer from a local organisation.
Through Mr No Ears, I found Amigos dos Gatos do Algarve. Relying solely on donations and money raised through their charity shop in Albufeira, AGA is headed up by Lesley Normington and a small group of dedicated volunteers who run a full-time feeding and welfare programme for stray and feral cats.
This involves visiting colonies every day to put food down and remove any injured or sick animals for medical help. Through a Trap-Neuter-Return programme (a humane and effective way of managing and reducing feral cat populations), AGA have neutered over 4,000 cats since 2000.
Many holidaymakers contact AGA out of concern for a stray cat they have come across or have been feeding whilst on holiday in the Algarve. It is a constant battle for AGA to cope with the demand without regular funding – which is why I decided to do whatever I can through any donations I can afford and promoting this worthy cause. It also means when I return to the Algarve I do so knowing AGA are there, providing this never-ending service and looking out for Mr No Ears and friends.
Caroline Lee Ferreira
Leeds, UK
Photo: IMGUR.COM/USER/LUCKY6
