“I woke up at 7am and things already started happening,” said Roza Zammit who takes care of the cat colony at Cat Village.

“Today they said they would come to assess the tree and eventually they will chop it down,” she continued.

While Roza was grateful for the construction workers who aided her in relocating the cat colony, and provided a room with water and electricity, she was still rife with emotion at the sad thought of the tree being cut down.

“It’s our only source of oxygen in the area,” she lamented. 

Although the cats have been provided a new home, the move may disorientate some who might follow Roza and risk being run over, especially for one cat which is blind, according to a nearby resident on Facebook.

“Portomaso has taken so much land from the area, they invested for sure, but they also took prime areas,” Buttigieg said.

“I don’t think they will become poor or lose revenue by leaving a tree and a cat village.”

Buttigieg also reaffirmed the council’s position in support of the cat village.

“In St Julian’s we have issues with major issues, such as construction and development, but I try to tackle all issues,” he said.

According to Buttigieg, the 60-year-old tree will be chopped down this week.

Lovin Malta reached out to Portomaso for a reaction but was unsuccessful by the time of writing.

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