A Paralysed Stray Cat and a Dedicated Carer Experience the Beauty of Unconditional Love

But when a soul, by choice and conscience, doth

Throw out her full force on another soul,

The conscience and the concentration both

Make mere life, Love.

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

COSPICUA, 19/02/2017 by Alexander Johnson. Sugar’s life started brutally. As a small kitten he was thrown from the roof of a high building on to a hard pavement, a violent act which severed a part of his young brain, causing paralysis from the head down. Somehow, the little tabby managed to drag himself into a dark doorway, where his squeals of pain attracted the attention of a kind passerby who fortunately called a friend, an animal lover, well known for taking care of sick and injured cats. This was the beginning of many years filled with a deep bond of love and commitment between «Sugar» and his human Doris Zarb.

Doris and her beloved Sugar

Even though he could barely move, the traumatised kitten was hard to catch, and still had a lot of fight left in him. Beaming, and with a twinkle in her eyes, Doris recalled, “When I finally managed to pick Sugar up, out of fear he bit me, causing my hand to swell like a balloon”. The weeks that followed involved journeys from one vet to another, the final diagnosis was Sugar would remain paralysed for the rest of his life. Doris told us, “I was recommended to have Sugar put down. However, he wasn’t in pain, and he had life, therefore there was no reason to destroy him, so I ignored the advice.”

Affectionately, Doris continued, “Furthermore, as the days went by, he started to accept me as his friend, and warmly purred when I stroked him. After that I couldn’t let him go. He was so sweet and loving, so I named him Sugar, and decided to keep him with me.” Since then, for the last thirteen years, due to his disability Sugar has had to be hand fed and cleaned several times a day, a chore which Doris lovingly does, besides seeing to any other needs.

Feeding water

No matter where Doris goes Sugar is close by, snuggled in his soft layered basket. “I also have him by me at night”, said Doris. “When he sleeps he lies straight and stiff as a board, not curled up into a soft ball like most cats.” Doris asserted further, “Sometimes, when he’s dreaming, he has moments of spasms, which wake me up.” Extraordinarily, in all those years Sugar has not been sick once! “The fall broke all his teeth, and we had to take them out,” related Doris, “but in the course of the years his gums have become so hard that he can chew dry food. Other than that Sugar, besides his paralysis, has had a very healthy life!” Taking care of Sugar means that Doris has had to sacrifice some of life’s pleasures, such as a holiday. “How can I have a holiday, when I’m needed here with my cats!” She smilingly exclaimed.

Doris has dedicated her life to cats, especially to the most vulnerable of the feline family. Over the years she has worked hard to establish one of Malta’s leading cat sanctuary, CSAF (Carers for Stray and Abandoned Felines), which today is home to over 250 cats. It is at the sanctuary that Sugar and Doris spend most of the working day. Sugar lies in his basket, surrounded by an entourage of cats, who seem to be very happy and proud to be in his presence. “The cats here love him, play with him, and one can see he enjoys it”, said Doris. On hearing Doris’ voice Sugar lifted his head to see where his loving human was. “I love all cats,” said Doris looking down at Sugar, “but Sugar has his own space in my heart.”

It was not expected that Sugar would survive a week, never mind to live all these years, but he proved all the pessimists wrong. Today, he is happy and healthy, with a lot more life to live, a miracle of love and devotion.

You can read more about Doris and the fantastic work of the  CSAF in 'Islands of Cats' on pages 79-85.

One Year Later: Carmen & Carmen

Alex with Carmen of Pietà (l) and Carmen of Kalkara (r)

We met both Carmens featured in our book 'Islands of Cats' at the C.S.A.F. [Carers for Stray and Abandoned Felines] Sanctuary in Cospicua, as they were busy helping to care for the 250+ stray cats that live there.

We were proud to present these two deserving stray cat carers with their copy of ‘Islands of Cats', and they were as pleased to receive them!

Besides their volunteer work at the CSAF, the two ladies also take care of their own cat colonies. You can read more about these dedicated women in 'Islands of Cats' on pages 17-19 for Carmen in Pietà, and pages 75-77 for Carmen in Kalkara.

'Islands of Cats' tells the stories of a representative 22 of over 1,000 stray cat carers in Malta and Gozo on 128 pages, illustrated by over 250 colourful photographs - accompanied by cat facts, stories, interviews, and it introduces places of interest on the Islands. 'Islands of Cats' is available in English, Maltese and German, as well as E-Books and Amazon Kindle. And most of all, we donate part of the proceeds of each book sold in aid of neutering and spaying of stray and abandoned cats in the Maltese Islands. Click here to order your copy, and please tell your friends.

What do Japanese Reporter Miss Ayako Imoto and Chicken have in common?

Cats !! Malta welcomed Miss Imoto Ayako (イモトアヤコ) and her TV team on Nippon TV mid September 2016 for the shooting of scenes for an upcoming episode (16 October 2016) of the popular Japanese TV show "ItteQ". Besides diving at a tuna fish farm, making it up a greasy ramp in Spinola Bay, other fun activities, and showing the highlights of the Island of Malta, Imoto-san followed the meows of the 350,000 stray and feline cats that live on our islands. As strays are very shy by nature and the time for the shooting was very short, we helped arranging for a visit to the C.S.A.F. cat shelter in Cospicua.

Doris Zarb, Founder of the CSAF Shelter, preparing for the shooting.

Nippon TV is a main Japanese private broadcaster and best known for its very popular Japanese entertainment show: “ItteQ - Let’s Challenge the World”, which airs every Sunday evening and reaches almost 20 million viewers (20% share) in Japan. Some episode make it even to other Asian countries. For ItteQ some very famous reporters travel around the globe to show different cultures and arts, new inventions, habits and sights, always with a funny touch that makes the program loved by all age groups.

So here she comes, Imoto-san, in her typical show appearance:

Miss Imoto (イモトアヤコ) entering the shelter, followed by her assistant and camera men filming.

Imoto-san wanted to shoot a scene with her among many many many cats. But first, how do you attract feral cats - even though in a shelter - altogether? With fresh chicken ! See for yourself...

And the work begins, shooting the scenes. Imoto-san now disguised as a large ginger cat :) 

(more impressions once the episode has aired in Japan)

Imoto-san, Doris Zarb and a camera man checking out a possible scene.

Domo arigato, Imoto-san, say Gabriele and Alexander, for stopping by at the CSAF Cat Shelter in Malta and for taking impressions and scenes back to Japan to an audience of 20 million TV viewers for your popular program ItteQ. (aired 16 October 2016 prime time)

And we made Imoto-san try the famous Maltese pastizzi (ricotta)

Please support the CSAF Cat Shelter and its ca. 250 abandoned and feral felines. This NGO covers the daily costs in the range of 200-300 Euro for food, litter, medicine, neutering (EUR 45 per cat), water, electricity and run by volunteers, almost completely through donations. Send your contribution via PayPal to csafmaltafunds@gmail.com . Grazzi hafna !!

Love and Devotion: Sugar - the Paralysed Cat

photograph ©2016 Islands of Cats

Doris, the founder of the cat sanctuary "C.S.A.F. - Carers of Stray and Abandoned Felines" in Cospicua, Malta, and her team are lovingly caring for «Sugar» for ten years.

The tomcat fell off a balcony some seven years ago, leaving him all paralysed from head down. Euthanising was no option for Doris' sweetheart. With the help of the volunteers at the Sanctuary - and the other 250 cats - Sugar enjoys being cared for in the cat shelter.

Sugar resides in a comfortable basket or baby seat, being moved, fed and cleansed daily by the volunteer carers. He receives veterinary care whenever needed, and on July 11, 2016, the CSAF posted on Facebook:

photograph courtesy C.S.A.F.

** SUGAR, OUR PARALYZED CAT HAS HAD HIS TEETH REMOVED **

Our precious and beloved Sugar, a paralyzed cat that has been under our care for the last 10 years, has had to have his teeth taken out as they got all rotten. He is now doing a slow recovery at the sanctuary...

Sugar not only gets a lot of attention from the carers, but also from several fellow-cats, some of them often stopping by to cuddle with him in his basket during the night. Sugar might be paralysed, but he is totally aware of what is going on around him. A wonderful example of what love and devotion can do. Blessings to lil' Sugar and to everybody so patiently looking after him.

photograph ©2016 Islands of Cats

The "C.S.A.F. - Carers of Stray and Abandoned Felines" is one of 22 stray cat carer portraits in the new (e)book "Islands of Cats - the humble Stray Cat Carers of the Maltese Islands" - click here to read more.

1000 private Stray Cat Carers in Malta & Gozo keep the feral cat population under control

Hey, we're in the middle of writing a photo-story book about the unsung Stray Cat Carers in Malta and Gozo - Islands of Cats. Long time ignored by the public or labelled 'odd hobby of weird people', it was time to pay tribute to these more than 1'000 primarily Maltese and Gozitan individuals.

Stray Cat Carers feed cat colonies in steady locations every day, 365 days a year, often twice a day. They also take them to the vet if necessary, and, most importantly, catch them to have them neutered and spayed as young as possible. Paying most costs out of their own pockets.

With a land mass of the size of Munich and surrounded entirely by the sea, imagine the feral cat population wouldn't be controlled by these devoted private initiatives. According to PETA (and we made the math), one male and female cat and their offsprings' offsprings, at 2 litters a year surviving 3 kittens each, can multiply after 10 years into an unimaginable 80 million (!) cats. From two cats only! Without the stray cat carers work, the Maltese Islands would be infested by sickly, skinny feral cats, desperately looking for food and shelter.

The tireless commitment of these people and NGO's, such as the CSAF Carers of Stray and Abandoned Felines, are a textbook example how the love for animals spreads across an entire nation, taking responsibility for a larger cause.

Visit our web site and blog at www.islandsofcats.com and help us to raise the funds for translation and printing to get this great book going. Some of the proceeds of every book sold will be donated to the Stray Cat Carers! Grazzi hafna / Thank you very much.

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