A good fe-line about the future

BY DHEEPTHI NAMASIVAYAM

Last year, Toby’s owner brought him to the Cat Protection Society of NSW (CPS). A terminal cancer patient, he could no longer care for his beloved 17-year-old cat.
‘Toby takes vacations at different people’s houses and today he’s enjoying his retirement with us,’ said Kristina Vesk, Chief Executive Officer of the Cat Protection Society of NSW (CPS).
It is just one of the many stories that the CPS, who celebrate their 50th anniversary this year, have witnessed in their long history.
Since 1958, the not-for-profit organisation has cared for stray and abused cats, housing them in their shelters or re-housing them to families.
‘You have to earn a cat’s love and respect and that makes them particularly special pets,’ Ms Vesk, a self-confessed fan of the felines, said.
Currently, 80 to 85 cats live at the CPS and last year was especially tough with over 2500 abandoned cats seeking refuge at the organisation.
Shirley Pikler has worked for the CPS since 1959 in various positions, including CEO between 1992 and 1998. One of her strongest memories was the CPS’s campaign to desex kittens at an earlier age, to prevent over-population.
‘Desexing was very important ‘ at the time vets were de-sexing at 6-months-old, a lot were having kittens and creating many more cats that couldn’t have homes,’ Mrs Pikley said.
This campaign, which continues today, is linked to increasing feline overpopulation, with desperate owners dumping their growing litter of kittens on the streets.
‘These cats would go on and breed a growing population of stray cats and kittens,’ Ms Vesk said.
And while the situation has improved, she added that every cat shelter in Sydney was still at capacity level in January this year.
But desexing is not the only challenge. The recent spate of cat brutality has also deeply troubled the CPS. ‘It’s not a big person who is unkind to animal, in fact it’s a pretty low thing to do,’ she said.
‘But there is a lot of kindness happening too. We’ve had people drive many miles to our organisation to bring cats who have been abused.’
And as they look to the future, the CPS hopes to perpetuate such acts of kindness that has kept the organisation afloat.
‘Our primary belief is that every cat deserves a loving and responsible home,’ Ms Vesk said.
‘It’s a never-ending job,’ according Mrs Pikler. ‘But we do the best we can as we go along.’