Rob Horgan
A BRITISH expat is fighting back after Benalmadena Town Hall banned her from feeding the town’s stray cats.
Kelly Dooley, 44, was given a slap on the wrists by Guardia Civil officers who spotted her laying out food for the moggies in Paloma Park.
But the caring expat has now launched a change.org petition to overturn the decision and has already garnered the support of over 2,000 signatories.
“I cannot believe they can do this,” Dooley told the Olive Press. “It is a total injustice.
“I have worked like a nutter to neuter and save these cats for the last seven years.”
Dooley, originally from London, currently cares for 55 stray cats.
She has invested a lot of money into improving the number of abandoned pets on the Costa del Sol and has rescued many.
“I have saved the lives of over 100 cats,” she said. “I’m really frightened that the cats will starve now or worse the town hall will cull them.”
Dooley launched an awareness campaign in February, via the Olive Press, after one of her strays had its heart cut out in a ‘voodoo-style assassination’.
A pet is abandoned every three minutes in Spain, and 150,000 pets are left on the streets each year, according to animal rights group Observatorio de la Fundacion Affinity.
To support Dooley’s campaign click here.
“I have worked like a nutter”! Quite!!!
“She has invested a lot of money” … would not call it an investment really. Instead of paying to neuter the cats it would be better to have them put to sleep. A few cats can be pretty and useful for eating mice etc. Feed them and they will become lazy and of no use.
Don’t worry folks. They will soon be doing what the rest of the Town Halls do…poison them and leave them to die horrible deaths!
John Lightfoot and Dref, a bit of humanity would not go amiss. This woman has tried to do the right thing by these cats and has had them neutered at her own expense. She is right to fear a cull by the town hall, several were poisoned the other week – perhaps you find that acceptable. With views like that, you will go native in no time.
John Lightfoot. You are completely mistaken in your belief that a well fed cat will not hunt. My Siamese is living proof that the opposite is true.
Not true John. A grand cat once “owned us”. She was fed like a fighting cock but regularly left presents of dead mice on the doorstep for us. (We lived on a farm). They hunt from instinct rather than hunger, a well-fed fit cat is better equipped for the job.
Well I disagree, cats are wild animals designed to survive, they are not born with a bowl and a tin opener. Feral cats are a nuisance and a health hazard and the amount wandering around the cafe’s in Spanish towns is unhealthy. I have no objection to someone having and looking after a pet cat.
I suppose you lot of total animal lovers would be ok with dogs and rats too, both animals in their own right.
Fully agree with stefanjo
Hear,hear John lightfoot…..wish I had you as a neighbour and not these fools I got at the moment putting out piles,and I mean piles of food for every cat and rat for miles to come to…..and Stefano god help living in the same province as you!!!!!
Never very perceptive are you pg. I was merely stating a fact about cats, not endorsing feral cats to breed willy-nilly. Our ferocious mouser was a pet, neutered, looked after and slept on the telly for warmth. (In the days before flat-screens).
@pg, what was it that you did not understand what stefanjo said?, was it “They hunt from instinct rather than hunger, a well-fed fit cat is better equipped for the job”. Prey tell.
@stefanjo, your reply to pg regarding his perception was not on show when I responded to pg, but am still waiting for some kind of response from him.
Jacko….if you were privy to previous “cat” comments between Stefano and I ,you would understand…..but you were not so you don’t!!!!……..but may I ask are you one of these so called animal lovers that let any animal run wild and out of control and get upset at other people who critise them?????……people who put up with the mess,flies,noise, danger of potential diseases, etc,etc………BTW before you ask,I’ve been a pet rescue volunteer, and RESPONSIBLE animal owner all my life……and I don’t expect other people to clear up behind animals I have a responsibility for……those people normally have something lacking in their life……or mental problems
Or both!
What on earth are you on about pg? What “previous cat comments”?
pg, I think if you look back, the first comment that stefanjo ever made was his reply to John Lightfoot and the perception of a cat’s life to which I had agreed to and yes I appreciate all forms of life even humans and as for you not wishing to live in the same province as stefanjo had you perhaps thought of moving to a province more adaptable to your way of live.
But I do agree, some people are thoughtless when it comes to cleaning the mess of their dog/s (not a cat as a cat normally cleans its own mess) and the feeding of stray cats but these are animal lovers and one must accept this fact. As for me, I have always carried a bag or two when taking my two small dogs for a walk.
Jacko….Stefano made a comment a number of months ago,OK!!!…and as for cats cleaning its own mess what world do you live in?????
Olive press….you keep censoring my comments which in turn are making my replies disjointed….
90% of commenters are here are trolls who should know better. Try going out.
See this site never changes! Might as well have a headline that simply reads ‘FEAR’
then make all the comments ‘I HATE SPAIN’
UUURRRGGGHH!!!!
pg: Or jointed?
stefanjo, it would appear we have some nasty people posting here and can quite understand if Olive Press is censoring replies from pg.
PG. how far back do you wish to travel, current postings are related to the subject of today. Cat’s normally dig a hole in some secluded spot, do their business and cover’s it up, not like some humans that urinate, crap and sick on public footpaths and expect people like yourself to clean up.
Please give it a rest your are now becoming boring. LOL
Come off it! “Cat’s normally dig a hole in some secluded spot, do their business and cover’s it up” – who’s crapping in the flowerbed under my non-secluded kitchen window & spraying urine along the hedges of my non-secluded patio then? The neighbours? Give me a break.
@Dref, you must have missed the word “normally”. But had you thought that perhaps you were intruding on the “cat’s” patch with your concrete jungle and the cat was merely telling you to p**s off.
I’m sure Dref has been there longer than the flea infested moggie. :)
Bit of an assumption that I live in a concrete jungle? Still, if you believe that humanity is intruding on the territory of felines, then maybe you also fear that one day the mogs will inherit the world!? And if the cats in your neighbourhood are “telling” you anything then I’d seriously consider getting a referral to a psychiatrist and stop listening to the voices in your head! LOL
At the risk of repeating myself – Give me a break!
@Dref, I was just replying to your post.
Hardly, if any, feral cats roam where I live except the odd pet cat and no stray dogs.
As for the “concrete jungle” mentioned it was directed more to your abode, ie: villa, flat or whatever and to a cat anything not of a nature surround is a concrete jungle. If you are a cat hater I can understand and accept but it does not mean every one is.
I think most has been said about cats on this site and any continuation by anyone does become boring.
Based upon your last post I’d agree. Yawwwnnnn!
The US point of view if you Britts even care to be open minded.
Trap-Neuter-Return Works
Cats have lived outdoors near people for more than 10,000 years. They are a natural part of the ecosystem. They survive—and thrive—in every landscape.
For decades, outdoor cats have been caught and killed in huge numbers—without success. Catch and kill is not a new idea. It’s inhumane, and it creates a vacuum effect. Populations rebound quickly. When Newburyport, Mass., killed 30 cats in a colony, 30 more joined the colony within two years. Then, the city turned to TNR—and the 300-cat colony was reduced to zero over time.
TNR is the only option for outdoor cats—it benefits the cats and helps educate communities about compassionate, humane approaches. TNR is mainstream in the United States and practiced by millions of people—including hundreds of municipalities and veterinarians. TNR is at the forefront of animal control and sheltering approaches. For over two decades, there has been a nationwide movement toward TNR, and the number of municipalities that endorse this program has increased tenfold in the last decade. It started as a small grassroots movement, and is now practiced by animal control departments everywhere from New York City and Washington, D.C., to Spartanburg, S.C.
A colony in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C. was eventually reduced to zero as a result of TNR (this colony inspired Alley Cat Allies President and Founder Becky Robinson to found the organization). TNR works as a large-scale, city-wide approach, too. In Chicago, TNR reduced the size of cat colonies in 23 zip codes by 41% in just five years. Read more case studies showing that TNR works.
Through TNR, the breeding cycle ends and colonies naturally diminish—there are no new litters of kittens. TNR can decrease colony size in just two years, according to a 2004 Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association study.
Not a Public Health Threat
Outdoor cats are not a public health threat. TNR also includes rabies vaccinations—rabies prevention has already been a resounding public health victory and TNR helps even more. There has not been a single case of a human contracting rabies from a cat in the past 40 years in the U.S. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that cats are rarely the source of toxoplasmosis in humans, and people are much more likely to get it from eating undercooked meat.
Facts are Facts
This shift toward humane approaches to outdoor cats is clear. TNR is the only humane and effective approach to outdoor cat populations. Catching and killing cats is cruel and ineffective, and it will never help birds. To help save birds, we must face the real threat of human impact on the environment.
Source: news.alleycat.org
Trap-Neuter-Return Works
Cats have lived outdoors near people for more than 10,000 years. They are a natural part of the ecosystem. They survive—and thrive—in every landscape.
For decades, outdoor cats have been caught and killed in huge numbers—without success. Catch and kill is not a new idea. It’s inhumane, and it creates a vacuum effect. Populations rebound quickly. When Newburyport, Mass., killed 30 cats in a colony, 30 more joined the colony within two years. Then, the city turned to TNR—and the 300-cat colony was reduced to zero over time.
TNR is the only option for outdoor cats—it benefits the cats and helps educate communities about compassionate, humane approaches. TNR is mainstream in the United States and practiced by millions of people—including hundreds of municipalities and veterinarians. TNR is at the forefront of animal control and sheltering approaches. For over two decades, there has been a nationwide movement toward TNR, and the number of municipalities that endorse this program has increased tenfold in the last decade. It started as a small grassroots movement, and is now practiced by animal control departments everywhere from New York City and Washington, D.C., to Spartanburg, S.C.
A colony in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C. was eventually reduced to zero as a result of TNR (this colony inspired Alley Cat Allies President and Founder Becky Robinson to found the organization). TNR works as a large-scale, city-wide approach, too. In Chicago, TNR reduced the size of cat colonies in 23 zip codes by 41% in just five years. Read more case studies showing that TNR works.
Through TNR, the breeding cycle ends and colonies naturally diminish—there are no new litters of kittens. TNR can decrease colony size in just two years, according to a 2004 Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association study.
Not a Public Health Threat
Outdoor cats are not a public health threat. TNR also includes rabies vaccinations—rabies prevention has already been a resounding public health victory and TNR helps even more. There has not been a single case of a human contracting rabies from a cat in the past 40 years in the U.S. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that cats are rarely the source of toxoplasmosis in humans, and people are much more likely to get it from eating undercooked meat.
Facts are Facts
This shift toward humane approaches to outdoor cats is clear. TNR is the only humane and effective approach to outdoor cat populations. Catching and killing cats is cruel and ineffective, and it will never help birds. To help save birds, we must face the real threat of human impact on the environment.
Well said Robert! I know trap-neuter-return works. It’s a scientific fact, but there are still people who would treat these beautiful creations with no respect, for no good reason, and with malice….why? I don’t know, but perhaps they will come back as a cat to find out……….
there are some vile people on here, I think you should return to the uk as you would fit in well.
or maybe give up the booze as it has made you brain dead
Nice lot of comments on this subject so I’ll throw my tuppence worth in. HOW ABOUT CULLING A FEW HUMANS. The more I hear from the so called human race the more I like animals.