Dear Editor,

I recently parked my car on Regent Street, across from City Hall, and was making my way through City Hall to Charlotte Street. As I turned left on the pavement, I saw a young frightened cat with a broken back; he was tumbling, trying to get to a safe place. I ran to get him before he landed in the trench but was too late; the poor thing was covered with sandy black mud, clawing at the sides of trench, trying desperately to get out. As I reached into the trench to grab him, he started clawing at my fingers, motivated by fear, I suspect, probably thinking another human monster was coming to finish him off.

Luckily, the trunk of my car had all the right tools to rescue animals. I quickly ran back to my car, got out my cat box, towel and a pair of gloves. Getting him out of the trench was not easy; even with a broken back he put up a vigorous fight, tearing my thick gloves in several places. I finally got him out, wrapped him in a towel and put him into the cat box. I looked at my clothes, they were no longer white but I was relieved to have rescued him from the stinky trench. He was taken to the clinic and euthanized.

Female cats can produce a litter of kittens approximately every 4 months. There is an alarming and increasing number of feral cats and kittens in Georgetown and elsewhere in Guyana. Thousands of cats and kittens are put to sleep every year because their numbers far exceed the number of available good homes for them. Feral cats are frequently pelted with rocks, chopped, burnt, and their backs and legs broken by bullies.

You can help correct this situation by educating your friends, co-workers, family members and others to be responsible pet owners and spay and neuter their cats. Such actions will help control the cat population and reduce abuses.

“To inflict cruelties on defenseless creatures, or condone such acts, is to abuse one of the cardinal tenets of a civilized society – reverence for life.” – Jon Evans

Yours faithfully,
Syeada  Manbodh