Animal pound in Cavite found starving cats to death

HUNGRY AND CAGED Stray cats caught in Barangay San Jose, Dasmariñas City, are found starving in a cage at a farm converted into a pound by the village chief. —PHOTO COURTESY OF YVETTE MAYO

MANILA, Philippines — A search for a missing feline turned into the discovery of the gruesome situation of animals in an animal pound in Cavite, amplifying the call to save and support abandoned animals.

In a viral Facebook video from Home4Paws administrator Yvette Mayo posted on March 17, a cat was seen feasting on a fellow dead cat due to alleged extreme hunger in an animal shelter in Barangay San Jose, Dasmariñas City.

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The photos of skeletonized cats also sparked outrage among netizens, making Mayo and the netizens question how the barangay personnel are taking care of the animals in the facility.

In an interview with INQUIRER.net, Mayo said that it was a coincidence that she saw the pitiful situation of the cats in the shelter, as she was just assisting another resident to locate her missing feline friend.

To her dismay, she contacted the barangay officials in charge of the facility, but no one could explain how the cats ended up in that kind of situation.

There were about 20 cats in the shelter, and according to her, dogs were also kept in the facility, but upon her checking, they were no longer to be found.

“We returned to the location of the cats… I cleaned the inside of the gates, wiped the cats’ eyes because they had eye discharge, and some of them had bleeding eyes,” Mayo said in Filipino over the phone.

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“I separated the sick ones, loaded cat food, loaded water, but the source of water we got was still dirty because it was in a drum located in a dirty makeshift toilet there. Their facilities were really dirty,” she added.

Mayo said that the Animal Kingdom Foundation will assist in filing the necessary charges to those responsible for the alleged negligence and abandonment of impounded animals.

She added that the Philippine Animal Welfare Society and Senator Raffy Tulfo’s office have also contacted her.

“Lives were lost there. It’s not that simple,” Mayo said.

“Those dogs and cats are creations of the Lord. Just as humans were brought to life on earth, He also brought dogs and cats to live. It’s not right to capture them on the streets only for them to die,” she added.

Released from the shelter

Mayo mentioned that she and the barangay captain agreed to temporarily suspend impounding activities in the area on March 17.

However, upon her return to the facility the following day together with personnel from Biyaya Animal Care, they discovered that the cats were no longer there.

They had been released by the barangay captain due to the backlash he received following Mayo’s post.

“Until now, there has been no news about the whereabouts of the cats they released. We saw one cat they released on Monday… it appears that it is a carrier of a virus,” she said.

The types of viruses found in the cat were feline immunodeficiency virus and feline infectious peritonitis.

Comprehensive investigation

In a separate Facebook post on March 19, Dasmariñas City Veterinary Services said that they had ordered a “swift and comprehensive investigation” into the impounding facility’s condition.

“We are actively coordinating with barangay officials to ensure the immediate implementation of humane treatment and care protocols for animals and revising impounding procedures to prevent such incidents from recurring,” it said.

They have also advised the temporary suspension of all impounding operations in the barangay and the enhancement of public health and safety measures related to stray animal management.

“We assure our community of our serious commitment to resolving this issue and ensuring the well-being of all impounded animals. We will keep the public informed with further updates and detailed information on our actions through the City Veterinarian’s official page,” it added.