Watch: Animal Activist Clashes With San Vincenz CEO And Security After Cat Café ‘Found In Awful Condition’
An animal activist got into a testy confrontation with the CEO of St Vincent de Paul after he ordered action to sort out a cat café, whose conditions he warned had seriously degenerated.
The cat café was inaugurated in 2016, in collaboration with Animal Guardians Malta, to provide pet therapy to the elderly residents of St Vincent de Paul.
Last weekend, Carmen Coleiro found the cat café had been locked, with bedding, toys and other feline equipment thrown out. She brought out her phone and filmed a live Facebook video of her clashing with two security guards and eventually CEO Jorgen Souness.
View this post on Instagram
Souness told her that Animal Welfare had carried out an investigation and informed him the cats were being kept in “inhumane” conditions, with a dead cat found buried in the soil nearby.
She responded that activists might have buried it and Souness stressed that she isn’t allowed to bury cats on SVDP premises, and that the whole venture was meant to be a cat café, not a sanctuary.
After Coleiro repeatedly questioned the role of Animal Welfare in the whole affair and whether the cats will get killed, Souness said they will only take cats that required veterinary treatment.
“This isn’t the right place to treat that kind of illness,” he said, warning that the NGO had breached the conditions of a memorandum of understanding that obliged them to provide regular vet updates.
The confrontation got heated at points, with Coleiro calling the security guards “idiots”. When they called her out for being “arrogant”, she asked them how they would respond if they were denied access to their own children.
“These cats are our children,” she said.
Souness told Lovin Malta that he started looking into the state of the cat café when he was appointed CEO a few months ago and whether the conditions of a memorandum of understanding SVDP had signed with Animal Guardians in 2017, but which had expired in 2019, were being adhered to.
He said he received reports of serious neglect, with rats attracted to the premises.
After giving Animal Guardians a deadline of 1st December to follow the MOU conditions, he ordered an inspection and found a “disaster”, with the cat café in a filthy condition, seriously sick cats, and dead cats found in food bags and buried in the soil nearby. Moreover, he warned there were over 300 cats, even though the MOU stipulated there should be no more than 100.
“There was a breach of contract from all ends – in terms of the number of cats, vaccines, vet reports… they had turned what was meant to be a cat cafe for SVDP residents into a sanctuary.”
Despite Coleiro’s warning that the cats will be taken away and killed, Souness clarified that the cat café will remain in place, but that it will be cleaned and given new equipment under the hands of a “competent organisation”.
He also asked Coleiro to apologise to the security officer on duty, who he said was targeted by racial abuse.
Animal Guardians, who have changed their Facebook page name to Cat Café Malta, said that while cleaning wasn’t always “top notch”, this was due to a “lack of help”, including on the part of Animal Welfare.
“But never ever did one cat lack any food or veterinary attention,” they said. “Animal Welfare forcefully seized all we worked for and handed our Cat Café to another NGO who works closely with them.”
“Why drag our reputation through the mud instead of giving us a helping hand? We love each and every cat in there, we named them all, spent hours caring and cuddling them, and AW plus the other supposedly animal lovers have banned us from seeing them ever again.”
“How can you not know how our hearts tear apart when you have stolen our children as opposed to helping us?”
“Some of us are growing older and felt the weight of coping and caring for all the stray cats we have rescued, some from dangerous situations, others who belonged to owners who sadly passed away, some of couples who separated, a few of persons who sadly ended up in jail… the list is endless.”
“But as God is our witness, we love them dearly and gave our all daily. May AW and all those who played judge and jury receive the same treatment one day so they realise how evil what they did is.”
“We have no more fight in us. Our tears cannot stop, but one thing for sure is… what you give out in life will catch up. We pray our furry babies will be looked after, and if anyone reading this may be allowed in Cat Café, please give them a hug from us and tell them we love you all so much and we are sorry we cannot fight anymore.”
“Those who play heroes and gods and put themselves on a high pedestal, will eventually fall to a slam.”
What do you make of this situation?
READ NEXT: Watch: PN Delegates Observe Moment Of Silence To Mark One Year Since Jean Paul Sofia’s Death
