Residents in Mellieħa have raised the alarm after a friendly cat was mauled to death by an unleashed dog.
On the evening of Wednesday, May 12, Andrew Gregory and his wife heard a terrible sound in their street, Triq l-Etna.
“We heard a lot of savage barking and a cat screaming, which went on for about two minutes. It was horrible,” he said.
A neighbour of theirs witnessed the incident, saying a woman was walking two dogs, one of which was not on a leash.
It is illegal for dogs not to be on a leash in a public place. And if the owner suspects the dog might be temperamental or dangerous, the dog must be muzzled at all times. Fines of €23 and €58 respectively apply.
One of the dogs, which looked like a pit bull, grabbed Misha and started to maul her, with the owner unable to intervene because the other dog was trying to join in.
It is illegal for dogs not to be on a leash in public
“When we went out to see what happened, Misha was dead on the pavement,” Gregory said.
The owner got into a car with the dogs, insiting she was not to blame, according to his neighbour’s account.
“Why walk your dog without a leash when you know you cannot control them?” Gregory told Times of Malta.
“This time it was Misha the cat but next time it could be a six-month-old baby in a pushchair.”
For the past five years, he and other residents have taken care of a colony of eight cats in the area.
Misha, a 12-year-old, was well loved and was better known as ‘Grumble’ because of the noises she made.
Misha was not actually a street cat but her owner let her out during the day and she made her way home at night.
“Everyone would see her sitting in the same spot, napping and enjoying the sun. She was such a beautiful and gorgeous cat.”
Another neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said she picked up the dead cat and took it to the upset and angry owner.
“Owners should know better if the dog is aggressive or has a tendency to chase cats. Dogs should always be on the leash and wear a muzzle if need be,” she said.
She said she had asked a policeman in the Mellieħa community to reach out to the dog owner to be more responsible.
“I do not wish to put another animal down, but I do want the owners to be made aware of their decisions and to be more responsible.”