17
17 July 2018
The bell did not toll for Bella
A
Hermanus cat used up several of her nine lives during the past week of unrest when she was trapped under burning rubble at the now destroyed Walker Bay Recycling facility in Mbeki Street. When owner Jan van Niekerk and his wife Arina were forced to abandon their business premises on Thursday afternoon after it was set alight and nothing could be done to stop the flames from slowly engulfing the buildings, they realised that they were not sure if their three office cats were still inside. Two of their cats were found on Saturday morning, but their last cat by the name of Bella was nowhere to be found and they had to accept that she may very well not have made it out in time. Bella made her appearance into their lives approximately a year ago when she had her babies on the premises. She was a completely wild cat, but soon grew to love being around people since Jan and Arina moved her inside with her babies so that she could nurse.
Jan soon grew attached to Bella (“I fell completely in love with her,” he said) and Bella, it seemed, had decided to stay. She knew exactly where to sleep to get his attention: on his keyboard while he was working, or on papers she somehow knew he would need. The two created a special bond and he was understandably very upset when she did not appear with their other two cats. On Monday morning, Jan and one of his helpers set off into what was left of the Walker Bay Recycling buildings. The rubble was still hot in some places as they searched for anything salvageable. They walked into one of the sheds to check the damage when they heard a faint meow coming from beneath the rubble. After some searching they found a miracle… Bella! She had been trapped in the burning rubble for four days, but had somehow managed to survive. Bella was rushed to Hermanus Animal Hospital where a crying Jan begged them to please save her. Within a few hours, despite suffering from smoke inhalation and sustain-
ing burns to her entire body, Bella managed to eat a meal and drink some water. Dr Sandy Waddingham said Bella was responding well to treatment and was expected to make a full recovery. “We just want to say thank you to everyone in the community. Our phones have not stopped ringing with all the calls of support from friends and even strangers,” said an emotional Jan and Arina. – Taylum Meyer ■ While the recent unrest has traumatised the entire community, we should perhaps bear in mind that it is especially the most innocent members of society – the children and animals – that are suffering the most. Who can forget the horrific image of a cat being swung on a chain by one of the protesters? The image has made local and international headlines, leading to a reward of more than R6 000 for information that could lead to the identification and arrest of the culprit.
Dr Sandy Waddinham of Hermanus Animal Hospital with Bella.
