While many people were celebrating Christmas with friends and families, exchanging gifts, a little stray cat who was stuck on an electrical pole for days received the gift of life when residents in Mabopane, north of Pretoria, and founder and managing director of Soshanguve Animal Shelter and Education NPC did not give up hope to save the terrified animal.
The cat was stuck for six days, and the community alerted animal lover Tebogo Maredi of the cat’s plight. He did not think twice and rushed to the scene - only to be confronted by a number of difficulties.
He and the community spent days waiting for Eskom to arrive and to switch off the live wiring. When Eskom eventually arrived, their ladder was too short. But this did not deter Maredi and the community, and they made a plan. With the wire switched off, a local resident climbed up the pole and rescued the fluff ball.
Maredi told the Pretoria News that he started the Soshanguve animal shelter in 2021. He has always had a passion for animals, especially in the rural areas and townships due to the hardships such as malnutrition he has witnessed.
He said some were covered in ticks and fleas, and they were in a terrible state. “I thought something had to be done regarding the welfare of these animals. I started washing the dogs and at first, I fed five dogs. The next thing I was feeding 10 dogs, then 30.”
Maredi said he was at a stage called by the local children, who called him “malumi,” uncle in Sepedi. “They said I was doing a great job looking after the fur babies.” He is fully aware that people often also go to bed hungry, but he started a children’s educational group, which also started feeding children as well in Soshanguve.
The plight of the animals, meanwhile, escalated and took them to the vet. He asked other shelters to help him with the rescues, but their hands were also full with rescues.
He also opened a shelter by Onderstepoort at the end of 2022. As he is also an animal inspector, he ensured that those who abused animals were brought to book.
Maredi, in explaining the cat rescue drama, said he was called by a local resident in Mabopane, Raymond Mogane, on the eve before Christmas. This was after the community tried for days to entice the cat with titbits, but she wanted to know nothing.
They could not do anything on Christmas Eve, as they waited hours for Eskom and the fire brigade.
No one gave up hope, but when the fire brigade and Eskom eventually came, it was discovered that the firefighters' ladder was way too short to reach the cat.
The next day - Christmas Day - day six of the cat being stuck - Mogane - also a hero in the tale - came to the rescue. With the electricity being switched off and him being an ace rigger, plan B came into action.
He climbed the pole and eventually reached the exhausted cat. She was placed in a cage, and Maredi rushed her to Olympus animal clinic for a check-up around 11 that night.
She was declared fit the next day, and all ended well - the vet who treated her decided to foster her and decided to foot the bill for the still-unnamed little miracle.