Last week, while representatives of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Israel were travelling towards the Society on the North Ayalon road, they took note of two vehicles that had stopped on the shoulder. Their first thought was that there had been an accident, but suddenly the representatives observed that the drivers of the vehicles were trying to catch a kitten.
Without hesitation, the representatives immediately pulled the Society’s vehicle off to the side of the road and got out in order to catch the kitten. The drivers who had stopped had not succeeded in catching the kitten because they were worried about being scratched. However, the representatives of the Society, who are proficient at rescuing cats, caught the kitten in less than a minute and rescued it from the definite likelihood of being run over, since we are talking about one of the busiest roads in the country.
The two month old female kitten was examined by the Society’s veterinarians. Its health is good and in about another month it will be ready to be put up for adoption, after it undergoes neutering.
In recent weeks, in the wake of the cat propagation season, the Society has received many calls from citizens who ask for our help in rescuing kittens in unconventional places. Luckily, in this case, the representatives of the Society were in the right place at the right time, and thus saved the life of this kitten.
It is important to note that the lives of street cats are full of suffering and hardship and they are exposed to many dangers, among them illnesses, harsh climate, abuse, hunger, dehydration and of course as in this instance – road accidents. Kittens are the primary sufferers, and most of them do not survive a full year. Many people see street cats as a normal phenomenon, but their place is not in the street. For comparison, a cat that grows up in a home can live for 15 to 20 years, while the estimate for the life expectancy of a street cat is only three years. The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Israel is working to encourage the neutering of street cats in order to reduce their suffering, and is even carrying out these procedures at its veterinary clinic for low fees. According to estimates, there are more than two million street cats in Israel, and we have been imploring the government and the ministries responsible for this topic, again and again, to work for a solution to this problem and thus to make it easier for the unfortunate cats.