Animal shelter in southern Catalonia overwhelmed with sick wild cats

An animal shelter in the southern Catalan city of Tortosa is currently overwhelmed with dozens of wild cats and dogs. The site receives up to a dozen cats per day.

The association Petjades de l'Ebre takes care of the animal shelter that currently hosts around 120 cats and dogs, and while it was first thought to be a place to welcome dogs, there are currently 81 cats.

Many of these cats are sick feral animals that heavily impact the association's day-to-day operations. They mean higher costs, including more rooms dedicated to their care and frequent vet visits.

"How can we control 81 cats and many more dogs with all the medication and vet visits required?" Ana Gil, vice president of the Petjades de l'Ebre group, rhetorically asked during an interview with the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

"We cannot," she said as the financial support agreed with the city council "is not enough."

Gil is now asking for people not to bring in more feral cats, as some of them carry a spreading virus, and most are used to living on the streets and cannot survive in enclosed areas.

"It is very difficult to move forward," Gil said as "people see kittens on the streets thinking they are doing them a favor, but these cats do have a cat to look after, and the mother could probably be looking for food, and the cats then moved. She will take them to wherever they need to go."

Volunteers warn that many come with a very contagious virus that increases the costs, but these are not the only problems.

"The emotional damage is huge, as you have been taking care of them, cleaning their swollen eyes, administering medicine, and many more things, and some days later, they just pass away," Gil said.

She warns people not to bring cats with swollen eyes to the shelter "because they will not survive."

Set up different spaces

Due to the large number of cats the Petjades de l'Ebre shelter receives, it has had to set up different areas to accommodate them.

Animals are divided by age and between sick and healthy ones. Some volunteers have set up cages for the cats in the corridors and in the shelter's largest room.

Experts call nearby farmers to supervise their cats whenever they are pregnant, as many kittens end up in the shelter.

"Where do we place them? We do not have any more space. This shelter is not planned to foster cats," Ana Gil said.

The shelter has around 40 stray dogs and calls for people not to abandon animals, not even using excuses such as allergies or children moving away.

Some dogs "are suffering a huge trauma," when people "have a dog, they should be aware it will be part of the family for around 16 years," Ana Gil said.

"We have seen dogs crying. They are better taken off here than on the streets, that is true, but they should be in their home," she concluded.