Two feral cats died and another eight are missing after a Ħamrun colony looked after by a feeder were targeted by snail poison. 

The cats, which used to go to the feeder’s back garden, formed part of a colony of 22, all of which had been neutered in November 2020.

The woman made the grisly discovery on Wednesday morning, finding two dead cats and regurgitated blue pellets, the distinctive colour of metaldehyde mollusc poison. 

The chair of the Council for Animal Welfare, Romina Frendo, said the animals likely suffered an agonising death.

“Poisoning is a horrific way to die, slowly and painfully while the suffocating burning sensation takes over.”

She said poisoning was not the solution to controlling the feral cat population: “Neutering and having responsible and educated feeders is.

“We have been involved in a number of initiatives to tackle the stray cat problem in Malta and, due to public ignorance, which maintains that neutering animals is cruel, which it isn’t, the situation has gotten out of hand through a combination of people not neutering their pets and abandoning their pets outside.

“What happened in Ħamrun has happened elsewhere, much to the heartbreak of the people who dedicate themselves to the care of these animals.” 

It is a crime to poison an animal, even if considered a pest, she stressed. “You cannot just kill and go about your day.” 

She said neutering was the only kind and humane way to prevent suffering.

“It is a misnomer to believe that every cat should have kittens once. You are mistaken if you think that we are going to run out of cats.”

NGOs estimate there are some 1,000 kittens in Malta and Gozo looking for a home, with Frendo’s own NGO, Real Animal Rights Foundation, housing some 70 kittens. 

“This year, we have taken in 20 cats that have given birth and are going through the process of spaying the mummies and finding good homes for them and the kittens,” she said. 

“My vision is introducing the possibility for subsidies for private neutering in order to encourage responsible ownership and to challenge wrong perceptions.”