By Esther Lauaki
Point Cook animal rescuers are calling for public assistance after more than 50 cats were removed from the house of a hoarder.
The cats were discovered and removed from the western suburbs property in recent weeks as part of a major operation involving Purrs of Point Cook rescuers Rebecca Roberts and Bec Greeves, along with other animal welfare groups.
Ms Roberts put out a call for help last week seeking assistance for the cats, some of which needed urgent medical care.
“Cat hoarding is a serious mental health issue and is an extremely confronting and upsetting situation for everyone involved,” Ms Roberts said.
“Our focus is on helping the three cats from this home that are in our care.”
The cats were named after characters from the Disney movie The Rescuers, Bernard, Bianca and Rufus.
“These three beautiful cats have all needed medical attention, with Bianca so sick that she needed urgent after hours care at U-VET on [January 23],”Ms Roberts said.
“All three kitties are dehydrated, malnourished, fluey and are on medication.
“Bianca and Bernard have terrible teeth and both will need teeth cleans and possible extractions under anaesthetic.
“As their health improves they will also all need further check ups, two vaccinations each … tests, microchipping and desexing.”
She said Purrs of Point Cook, which is run by volunteers, was in desperate need of funding to carry on their important work.
An online fundraising campaign has been set up to cover vet bills for the three cats to the tune of $2000.
“We are currently over $5000 in debt to our vet clinics,” Ms Roberts said.
“We knew these kitties would cost a lot to bring back to good health and we clearly can’t afford it at the moment, but we couldn’t turn our backs and we knew that our supporters wouldn’t either.
“We do not have a shelter, our wonderful network of foster carers provide warm, loving, caring homes for our rescued cats and kittens until forever homes can be found.”
She said her concern was that the cats would not be adopted for some time.
“With kids heading back to school we find this time of year adoptions completely drop off”Ms Roberts said.
“Families adopt during school holidays because it’s the ideal time for a new [cat] to settle in, especially if parents have time off work too.
“Unfortunately for the [three] cats and kittens in care currently, this means they will likely wait months longer to find homes.”
Details: purrsofpointcook.com.au/contact-us
