This little white kitten is only a few weeks old and was rescued after being found with cat flu on a Flaxmere property crawling with feral strays. Photo / Maddisyn Jeffares
This little white kitten is only a few weeks old and was rescued after being found with cat flu on a Flaxmere property crawling with feral strays. Photo / Maddisyn Jeffares
A Flaxmere street became over-run by feral cats after a property owner started feeding one or two strays and they kept multiplying, say neighbours.
There were so many stray cats that people living down Caernarvon Drive said it was common to see them having been hit by cars.
After hearingabout a stray cat dragging its legs after being hit by a car, Vicky Mckay decided she had to do something.
When the owner of Viks Rescue, a Hastings-based cat and kitten rescue, went to pick up the paralysed cat, she found the street over-run with cats.
In her 16 years of running the rescue, she said she had never seen a street so bad. The dozens of cats were visibly sick and covered in fleas.
Over four days McKay trapped and removed more than 28 feral cats and kittens from the property.
"There are still some strays hanging around. They are so feral and trap-shy that there was just no way to catch the last few."
This little white kitten is only a few weeks old and was rescued after being found with cat flu on a Flaxmere property crawling with feral strays. Photo / Maddisyn Jeffares
She shared her frustration on the Flaxmere community Facebook page, asking that people "please please please" desex their pets, and if they do take in a stray, "that is awesome but desex it".
"This clean-up cost my rescue thousands of dollars and hours and hours of my time. This could have been prevented if the first one or two were desexed," Mckay said.
Mckay explained that taking in a healthy rescue cat would cost her a minimum of $250, "so imagine what rescuing a sick flea-ridden cat with kittens would cost".
Neighbours said they tried to call Hastings District Council animal control about the cat infestation but animal control told them that there was nothing they could do.
However, the council has a bylaw prohibiting Hastings residents from keeping more than four cats without approval.
A council spokesperson said they have no record of any complaints to animal control about the over-run property.
Vicky Mckay found this litter of kittens huddled together "worm burdened, riddled in fleas" and suffering from the cat flu. Photo / Maddisyn Jeffares
In August, Jaran Dixon and his partner Tegan Winter moved into their new home, getting ready for the arrival of their first child, Oakley Dixon, now 3 months old.
Soon after moving into Caernarvon Drive the couple realised the street had a sizeable feral cat problem.
The new parents would be woken up at all hours with noises of cats fighting and mating , constantly making "gross noises".
The strays also killed the couple's budgies.
"The stray cats would sit on top of my aviary and swipe at them until they got them," he said.
