The developers of a proposed apartment block at Portomaso have stepped in amid a public outcry to offer an alternative to a popular ‘cat village’ in the area which will be destroyed by the new building.

The likely destruction of the colourful cat village on Spinola Road, which for decades has been home to a small colony of strays cared for by members of the community, prompted outrage among animal lovers in recent days.

In the past week, several people wrote to the Planning Authority, which is currently assessing the application, objecting to the development and calling for the colony to be preserved.

“The place is not only a refuge for stray and abandoned cats living in the area – a consequence of irresponsible pet owners chucking unwanted and un-neutered pet cats into the street for years.

“It has also become a tourist attraction, with regular fans coming from as far away as Japan and the US,” one concerned person wrote.

What we’re offering is at least more hygienic.I find it difficult to believe people are coming to see what there is now; what I see is people crossing the road to avoid the stink

Objectors also wrote that the cats, which are territorial animals, could not simply be ‘transplanted’ elsewhere and that destroying the colony would be irresponsible while animal shelters across the island were consistently full.

Portomaso director Ray Fenech told Times of Malta, however, that following discussions, the developers had agreed to provide a fully furnished room close by to house the animals if the application, for a block of apartment with underlying shops, was accepted. The room would include sinks and storage facilities, as well as hatches for the cats to come and go, on the condition that those who cared for them kept the place clean and the animals neutered.

“The best thing for us would be if they left altogether, but I understand the attachment these people have to the cats,” Mr Fenech said.

“What we’re offering is at least more hygienic. I find it difficult to believe people are coming to see what there is now; what I see is people crossing the road to avoid the stink.”

Still, Rosa Zammit Salinos, who has fed the cats and seen to their health for years, said that while the proposed alternative was better than nothing, the destruction of the cat village would erase an important part of the community.

“Apart from the cats, it’s something for tourists and other people to come and see; they’re not going to come to see cement,” she said.

“For a lot of people it’s like a place of therapy. There’s nowhere for children to play in the area, so they come there sometimes.”

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