A unique feral cat colony has existed in the Reykjavík suburb of Hafnarfjörður for years. The cats have found homes by the harbour and inside the countless nooks and crannies in nearby lava fields. The animals receive food and shelter from members of Dýravinafélag Hafnarfjarðar, an animal-rights organisation.
The organisation has now created Óskasjóður Púkarófu, a fund meant to better the lives of the feral cats of Hafnarfjörður. Through the fund, benefactors provide the cats with food and well isolated shelters carpeted with hand-knit, woollen blankets. They also attempt to get kittens into loving future homes.
Read more: Harry the tom cat banned from visiting library
The fund is named after Púkarófa, a handsome female cat with mesmerizing yellow eyes who lives by the Hafnarfjörður harbour. María Þorvarðardóttir, the fund’s foreman, first noticed Púkarófa a few years back when she rented a workspace by the harbour.
“Local fishermen, who had been keeping an eye out for her since she was a kitten, told me she was around nine or ten years old,” María told Morgunblaðið newspaper.
Read more: Óðinn Lionheart, the charitable blind kitten
Feral cats are domesticated cats that have returned to the wild, or the offspring of such animals, and are not to be confused with a stray cat, which is a lost or abandoned pet puss.
“Many see them as a pest, but through association one quickly learns just how magnificent they are. They are strong-willed and prefer a nomadic life, and the fund is not out to change that. We just want to make their lives a little easier.”
A unique feral cat colony has existed in the Reykjavík suburb of Hafnarfjörður for years. The cats have found homes by the harbour and inside the countless nooks and crannies in nearby lava fields. The animals receive food and shelter from members of Dýravinafélag Hafnarfjarðar, an animal-rights organisation.
The organisation has now created Óskasjóður Púkarófu, a fund meant to better the lives of the feral cats of Hafnarfjörður. Through the fund, benefactors provide the cats with food and well isolated shelters carpeted with hand-knit, woollen blankets. They also attempt to get kittens into loving future homes.
Read more: Harry the tom cat banned from visiting library
The fund is named after Púkarófa, a handsome female cat with mesmerizing yellow eyes who lives by the Hafnarfjörður harbour. María Þorvarðardóttir, the fund’s foreman, first noticed Púkarófa a few years back when she rented a workspace by the harbour.
“Local fishermen, who had been keeping an eye out for her since she was a kitten, told me she was around nine or ten years old,” María told Morgunblaðið newspaper.
Read more: Óðinn Lionheart, the charitable blind kitten
Feral cats are domesticated cats that have returned to the wild, or the offspring of such animals, and are not to be confused with a stray cat, which is a lost or abandoned pet puss.
“Many see them as a pest, but through association one quickly learns just how magnificent they are. They are strong-willed and prefer a nomadic life, and the fund is not out to change that. We just want to make their lives a little easier.”
