'Cooped up at home' by an 'out of control' cat colony in Rincón de la Victoria

Neighbours in the housing developments in the Bezmiliana district of Rincón de la Victoria say their patience has run out. The reason for this is the endless disturbance caused by a cat colony that residents claim "is completely out of control".

The problem, as one of those affected complains, is nothing new, it dates back to at least 2021 and has a specific focus: a vacant lot of wasteland at the end of Calle Conchitina. Some of these animals began to take refuge there - at first, just a few - but their presence has increased exponentially thanks, as the critics phrase it, to people who decided to feed them. As a result, they now number more than 50. "They started feeding them with whole sacks of dried food and that's how they've been able to reproduce. It was no use taking away their food, there was always more", states one of the residents.

Another local resident in this neighbourhood, which includes several terraced townhouse complexes, comments that this "plague" disrupts the daily lives of those who live nearby. "I can't go out onto my terrace because there's a hotbed of infection right next door," she says. The communal areas of this neighbourhood are "impassable", with damage to palm trees and grass verges caused by the cats gathering there and transmitting diseases to the vegetation. Added to this is "kilos and kilos" of animal faeces around the place that prevent normal use of the pool.

There's more. "We've had cats dying, spitting blood, right here next to our children, when we tried bathing as a family," they say. "It's not just cats, all kinds of animals come here, from seagulls to wild boar, it's a serious problem," they add.

As the victims of this situation make clear, the local council is aware of what is happening, having received written complaints warning that the cats have nearly caused car accidents by sneaking into residential parking lots.

The local authorities make it clear that they are aware of the neighbourhood complaints, pointing out that measures have already been taken in this respect, although, so far, without success. One of the actions has been to put up information posters reminding people of the prohibition on feeding the animals. All of these have been torn down, according to municipal sources, pointing out that there is a controlled feeding site in the vicinity near this feral colony.

At this point, the issue has already taken on investigative dimensions, since, as explained by the municipal government, the Local Police have been instructed to locate and fine the person(s) engaged in feeding the cats.

This practice, they emphasise, is precisely the focus of everything happening in this central part of the town. In 2024, Rincón de la Victoria signed a collaborative agreement with Malaga's veterinary college to comprehensively manage such feral colonies using the TNR (trap, neuter, release) method.