National Cat Society of Malta

The Street Cats of Malta

It is a saddening fact that the Maltese are not an animal loving nation and there have been many reports of cruelty to animals. The police do not always prosecute.

A little food and starving street cats come from everywhere

Around Malta there are many people who feed stray cats, paying for the food from their own money, sometimes at great personal sacrifice. There are also some good souls who take it upon themselves to not only feed these cats but to also neuter them. The Society is doing its best to help out with the neutering but finances are low.

Many public gardens in Malta used to have many stray cats roaming about. Since a consortium took over these gardens many cats have simply "disappeared". The Maltese public was made aware of these happenings through reports in the local media…… but not much came out as a result. Examples of the gardens where the cats disappeared are those of San Anton and the Upper Barrakka.

Alive when this photo was taken, but for how long?

There were also reports that all the cats in a Public garden in Santa Venera were poisoned. The persons who used to feed these cats did not find any overnight.

Most local councils believe that cats are there to litter the streets and many councilors have been known to try to stop volunteers from feeding the cats. Many of these volunteers clean the feeding area every day after the cats have been fed.

Photos from the Streets of Malta, Summer 2007

The following photos were taken by a British tourist in September 2007. This is an aspect of Malta the authorities don't want you to see. The comments are hers.

"Many of the street cats are injured, ill or go missing. These are a few of the cats that are trying to cope with conditions or injuries with no medical help. The plight of the strays is very sad, especially when they are taunted by people because they look different or ill.

"This cat was found dead in St Anton Gardens on 7th September. It is unknown how or why it died.

"This cat lives in St Anton Gardens, and while there for a short period of time I witnessed it been tormented by visitors. It suffers from gingivitis and can barely manage to eat.

"These cats at Rabbat were very thin, meowing for food, some of the cats bones were visibly sticking out, one I think had a broken tail. There are a lot of cats here and some kind person is putting food down but maybe not enough to go round, unless illness plays a part. Some are thinner then others.

"Broken bones are common. This cat appears well fed but it has a broken leg.