A picture of badly neglected cat found outside a house in northern Brimbank earlier this month could go global.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants to use the image of the dying cat, rescued by Western Suburbs Cat and Kitten Rescue on February 12.
WSCKR founder Nathan Miles said the cat, found in “horrific condition”, had being regularly fed by a woman but had to be put down by a licensed veterinarian.
“I was horrifed by the state of the cat,” he said. “It had suffered for weeks and most likely months, it was emaciated, its eye had rotted out, its face was rotting away and it was bleeding.
“It’s going to go global that picture. PETA emailed me asking for a copy.”
He said the feline had been a victim of “semi ownership” and the woman feeding it was only prolonging the inevitable.
“People think if they report it animals will be put down, but how would they like to suffer like that? Sometimes the kindest thing to do is get a vet to put it to sleep.
“People continue to do the wrong thing, they need to take proper ownership of their pets, or take it to the RSPCA or council.”
He said Brimbank had a high rate of stray cats due to the socio-economic status of some sections of Brimbank.
“The western suburbs has had a stray cat problem for many years with Brimbank Council having one of the highest numbers of stray cats recorded.”
The Weekly revealed last June there were more than 5400 requests for animal management services last financial year, mostly related to dogs and stray and feral cats.
