A member of the public has saved the life of a cat dumped on the street in an air-tight litter tray in Boom (Antwerp Province). The feline was found near to a block of flats. The person that found the tom cat immediately called the cat rescue organisation Zwerfpoezen Ruppelstreek and they came to collect him.
A tom cat has been found left to die in a litter tray that had been sealed with duct tape. An alert passer-by noticed the cat near to a block of flat and contacted the cat rescue organisation Zwerfpoezen Rupelstreek.
Cat rescue volunteer Walter Van Remoortel told VRT News "What possesses someone to shut a cat up in something that has been made air-tight? We just can’t get our heads round it”.
Walter Van Remoortel and the other volunteers at the rescue centre were shocked when they saw that the cat had been abandoned in this way.
"I’ve been doing this now for 5 years and have seen a lot of things, but this is out of all proportion. We don't really understand what would possess someone to lock a cat in a litter tray and seal it airtight. We can't comprehend it. I don't know what would have happened if the passer-by hadn’t found him”.
"The cat was not chipped and had not been sterilised. He was completely distraught and was very angry for the first few days. He growled and hissed. Eventually, he settled down and turned out to be a very sweet cat, who at first glance seems perfectly normal”. The cat has since been named Tobias.
The cat recue refuge does not know who abandoned the cat. “I understand that there are people that may no longer be able to keep a cat, for financial or health reasons, for example. However, there are other ways to give up your cat. What's more, you can do so free of charge with us.”
“I would also like to thank the person who reported this. We cannot see everything or be everywhere at once. So, it is better to call an organisation that can if you are concerned, so that someone can go and check” Mr Van Remoortel told VRT News.