Read about Friends of the Ferals 8th cat neutering trip to Benidorm
Friends of the Ferals to Alicante
5th – 12th March 2005.
The Team
Co-ordinator: Valerie SinclairVeterinary Surgeons:
Eilika Dettmering
Tracy Backhouse
Veterinary Nurses:
Faye Piddington
Samantha Filby
Cat Trappers:
Tracy Deamer
Helen Ball
Recovery Room:
June Dale
Local Helpers:
Barbara, Antonio, Ana, Christine, Sunni and Lorraine.
The Project
This was our 8th neutering visit to Alicante working in the Benidorm area with our clinic based in the town of Alfaz. To date 2218 cats have been neutered and 36 dogs. We are a cat charity, but help the dogs as and when we can.
On this trip we worked with members of S.I.A.C. (Stitching International Animal Care) an organisation based in Alfaz and run by Barbara Oele, who is originally from Holland. With S.I.A.C help the Alfaz Ayuntamiento gave us official permission to work on the feral cats and they also gave us the use of a disused school room, with ample parking in the forecourt.
We had a visit from Juan Miguel an Environmental Health Officer from the Veterinary College in Alicante who checked and approved the vets and nurses crudentials.
Special concern was expressed by Juan that every cat we neutered was ear tipped. Local vets do not approve of our work – but as we do not do private cats, they still have their work. Eilika put notices up in German Spanish and English explaining what our work involves and about the ear tipping. People bringing cats in were told to read the notice before leaving any cats.
Cats were brought in from the following villages and towns: La Nucia- Albir-Calpe-Villyossa-Benidorm-Altea-Torrevieja and Alfaz.
The number of animals seen was 307 285 were Sterilised, being 166 females 119 males and 3 male dogs. also 14 were treated, and 8 cats were euthanased due to ill health. 29 of the female cats were heavily pregnant and their kittens aborted.
We were televised by a Spanish film crew, this was then shown on the local network, and we were also mentioned in the local newspaper, to let people know what we were doing for the week of our stay.
People are beginning to realise that by carrying out these sterilising trips we can reduce the numbers of cats, and also kittens being born to a life on the streets, begging for scraps of food and being ill treated. Many of the cats that we have treated on our visits would have been left to die a lingering painful death, this is the reason why it is so necessary to continue this work.
One little dog was found in a rubbish bin and taken in by Lorraine. He is approximately 14 years old and not in very good health. He will have a few weeks of love and care before being put too sleep, as Lorraine was advised by our vets to do due to all his problems. Lorraine has bought a piece of land and has taken in so many kittens and cats for us, what would we do without her.
Friends of the Ferals visits three places to carry out neutering trips, being Tenerife, Alicante and Malaga.
Thank you
A big thank you goes to all my donors. As always mentioned, without your help I could not continue. Thank you John, Eileen, Margaret and Farida for your help in the past and present. To The Alice Noakes Memorial Fund – The Marchig Animal Welfare – the St. Andrews Animal Trust, SPANA, and everyone else who makes these trips possible.Thanks goes to Christine for supplying the team with free accommodation and for raising £520 towards this last trip.To June for fund raising in England and also for donating £200.
Thanks to the Town Hall for supplying a place for us to work in, and the meal at lunch time for the team. Also to everyone else who supplied lunches and chocolate.
To the veterinary team and all other helpers a big thank you for your work in helping to relieve the suffering of these stray animals.
Thank you to the Dutch Vet Peter Delint for ordering our drugs for the trip.
380 were donated by people in Spain and his helped towards paying for the hired cars etc. These trips cost approximately £2,500 – £3,000. The drugs alone are approx. £1,600. When we do dogs the cost is much higher.
With the help of a wonderful team we managed to neuter 285 cats and 3 dogs in six days.
