Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

30 January 2025

3-minute read

It all started in 2015 when Farzana Ismail, a lecturer at Vaal University of Technology, saw a feral cat walking through the university auditorium while an examination was in progress. Chaos ensued and Farzana, a novice in cat rescue at the time, tried to calm the students down. She returned the following day with food and water and found out that there was a colony of cats on campus that were being cared for intermittently, so she took on the initiative to take care of the colony.

After some research, Farzana founded the Feral Carer NPC, a registered organisation caring for 20 community cat colonies in Vanderbijlpark. For nearly a decade now, she has provided food, medical care, and safe spaces for countless stray animals, including a dog and cats with chronic health issues. Farzana advocates for sterilisation through TNR (trap, neuter, and return) to manage the feline population humanely. She is doing everything she can to “ensure the well-being” of these “community cats,” as she prefers to call them.

Caring for these cats has impacted Farzana on a personal level to the extent that she feels an “emotional connection” with the cats she takes care of. As soon as the cats on campus identify Farzana’s car, they creep out of the bushes and come to her, and this is her greatest inspiration.

In mentioning a couple of stories about the cats she cars for, Farzana spoke about losing a beloved cat named Adam to FIV, the feline equivalent of HIV. She had rescued him as a kitten and the multiple cat illnesses he suffered eventually led to him being euthanised. Recently, Farzana took in a blind cat named Cindy from the Sebokeng campus, to spend “whatever time she has left” at their campus.

The main lessons she’s learnt along the way as she’s cared for these cat colonies over the years have been empathy and tolerance. “Co-habitation is key,” says Farzana, and the students at campus have become more inclined to share their space with the feral cats, especially once she taught them that the benefit of having cats is that they keep snakes, mice and rats at bay.

Her biggest challenge at the moment is funding, says Farzana, and she is appealing to the public to donate towards cat welfare. The costs of specialised food and veterinary care are excessive, and public support is vital to sustain her efforts. Farzana appeals to individuals and businesses for financial assistance to provide for these vulnerable animals.

Farzana’s efforts in caring for cat colonies has brought about a sense of community and kindness to those around her. “Something has to resonate with you,” she concluded, to join in the efforts of caring for these cats.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Sulaimaan Ravat on Sabahul Muslim.