Pet owner shifts 300 cats from flat to another location

After three years, the owner of a Marvel Bounty Society flat in Hadapsar has shifted cats from his house to an alternative location.

According to residents in the neighbourhood, the feline population increased from 60 in 2022 to 600 in three years prompting them to file complaints with Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) citing hygiene and health hazard concerns.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Pune district on February 14 issued a notice to Rinku Bharadwaj, the pet owner, directing her to relocate over 300 cats from her 3BHK flat to an alternative site within 48 hours. The notice followed an inspection carried out on February 13 after receiving complaints from society residents. However, the pet owner requested the officials time till Friday to shift the cats, said officials.

SPCA of Pune district, Hadapsar police officials, PMC veterinary chief Dr Sarika Funde-Bhosale, PMC sanitary inspector and Marvel Bounty Society member visited the pet owner’s house on Friday to confirm if the cats were shifted. Bharadwaj had shifted the cats to her new rehabilitation facility for rescued cats in Kharadi, said PMC officials.

Dr Funde-Bhosale said that the 48-hour time mentioned in the notice to shift the cats was relaxed considering the large number of animals.

“We have done a panchanama after the cats were shifted in the presence of authorities and others. Bharadwaj has given an assurance in writing that she will strictly follow guidelines given by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) and PMC. For us the well-being of cats is the priority. We have asked the pet owner to inform us of the exact location where the cats are shifted. We will visit the location to check if all the animals are in good health and pose no nuisance to citizens living in the vicinity,” she said.

Meanwhile, AWBI on Tuesday instructed the Maharashtra Animal Welfare Board to establish a committee to investigate the issue following a complaint from Bharadwaj who alleged undue pain inflicted on community cats and harassment by the society’s managing committee and residents.

The society residents since 2022 have raised multiple complaints to PMC claiming nuisance, stench and disease outbreak concerns due to the massive number of cats cramped up in a 3BHK flat. PMC and SPCA had visited the Bharadwaj home in 2022 and found over 60 cats of different breeds. No clear guidelines from AWBI or PMC on number of pet animals to be kept in house left authorities with no solution to address the case.

Sudarshan Sanap, a society resident who has been following up the issue with officials since past several years, said, “I hope PMC will ensure the problem is solved permanently.”

Bharadwaj said, “I had planned to shift cats to our rehabilitation facility in Kharadi. However, I had to expedite the shifting process following pressure from officials. I have been working in collaboration with several international organisations to promote animal welfare. There are several loopholes in the system with no specific government guidelines which is leading to hardship for animals.”