By
Anthony Bonnet
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It is a refuge that does not speak its name. Behind the gate of this residence in the center of Bernay (Eure) love, care and tenderness await stray cats. To the point that some end up staying there for a long time.
“I don’t have the heart to see an animal starve to death under my windows,” says Frédéric, who has no shortage of stories on the subject. Bogda’s is moving.
Birth of four kittens
This gray cat snuck into his garden for the first time before returning to feed each evening. Pentecost, in May 2024, she gave birth to four kittens, i a cozy cabin specially designed by Bernayen. But one morning Bogda disappeared.
She had taken her little ones, but we couldn’t find them. One evening, when we saw her come back and wait a long time at our house, we told ourselves that the little ones were lost.
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Until the day when, after searching and listening for the slightest noise, they were discovered in a neighbor’s garden, stuck between two wallsan inaccessible and unsanitary place.
“Their mother could no longer walk there, she no longer had the physical ability to climb the walls,” continues Frédéric. You have to clear brush, cut branches, remove spiders. Almost inert, the kittens were no longer fedbut managed to be rescued on June 6.
Concern for Bogda
The little family is back in Frédéric’s home, who moves them into a bigger cabin. Except that two days later Bogda took off again, without going very far.
“She was walking toward a dead end, staggering as if preparing to die,” Bernayen confides. She eventually returned again, at lunchtime on Sunday 9 June.
She could no longer walk, she crawled and got stuck under the door.
It is decided to take him to Croix Coquet Veterinary Clinic. “I was told that his vital prognosis is at risk, that we cannot operate on him because his condition is too serious. »
Hope is fading for Frédéric, despite the antibiotics administered. Bogda suffers from breast necrosis.
This cat lover then prepares a final resting place for him in his home. “I had to bring her back to the clinic because her condition worsened further,” he says.
The vets end up saving her and managed to close the wound. “She got back on track, she was even sterilized and is doing much better today,” rejoices Frédéric.
A very loving staff dog
And what happened to the kittens during that time? Our witness is trying his best bottle feed themby following advice read on the Internet. Mastering the movements is complicated, and a veterinary assistant from the Croix Coquet clinic is used to it host familyagrees to take responsibility for them.
“She kept me informed every day of their progress and sent me picturesbecause I had become attached to them,” emphasizes Frédéric, who does not hide his astonishment when he sees a Staff dog taking care of the kittens as if they were his own little ones.
Listening to Estelle, the veterinary assistant who owns the animal named Nash, such gentleness is not so surprising.
The staff have a bad reputation, but if they are brought up in a good family, they get a good education. I have always had animals and my dogs are used to them.
Feline health is significantly improved. To find a house Frédéric and his partner talk about these red and gray balls of fur in those around them.
“One lady burst into tears when she saw a picture because it reminded her of her cat that had died and she decided to adopt one,” he comments. The other three also end up on a new roof.
The importance of sterilization
“It’s a sad story at the beginning that ends well in the end,” sums up Frédéric. “There is not enough recognition for the people who give their time, they are the ones who should be thanked,” Estelle assesses. And everyone can learn a lesson from it responsibility of the owners and about the importance of sterilization.
“I solve situations on my own small scale, and I’m not the only one who invests, even if it means putting money into it. But it’s about time real big measures be established in Bernay”, concludes Frédéric, suspecting that other stray cats will come back sooner or later to knock on his door.
What does the city do for stray cats?
If cats go astray after running away from their homes, others find themselves on the streets, victims of the cowardice of their masters, who do not hesitate to abandon them. “This happens especially when people realize that they have to sterilize their animals and that it has a cost,” notes Estelle, veterinary assistant at the Croix Coquet clinic. And it’s the cats who suffer because they end up outside and don’t know how to fend for themselves. » “Many people do not take responsibility, they take the animal for an object, unfortunately,” laments the professional.
The proliferation of unsterilized stray cats can quickly lead to an increase in births. To remedy this, the municipalities enter into partnerships with approved associations and get help to sterilize cats, knowing that the municipalities are responsible for stray animals and must organize their care and support. Asked by our newspaper, Bernay town hall replied that it was investigating “the possibility of entering into an agreement with Bernay veterinary clinics to sterilize cats”. In the meantime, the municipal police collect them and bring them to the pound managed by Intercom, Granges zone, IBTN, working together with the Augeron animal shelter in Hermival-les-Vaux.
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