About a hundred cats in the Gdynia shipyard have been abandoned since the company has been closed down amid failed attempts to sell it to a private investor.

The workers fed the cats for 18 years but now they are gone and the cats have been left to fend for themselves. Local newspapers has drawn attention to the situation, suggesting that up to even a thousand hungry felines have been abandoned on the shipyard premises.

This has prompted numerous NGOs and individuals to start catching the cats to give them up for adoption. The local society for prevention of cruelty to animals argues that this is misguided and that the cats need food and veterinary care instead.

“These are feral cats, which should remain on the spot, because they are half wild and feel bad when taken home,” says a local animal rights campaigner.

The society for the prevention of cruelty to animals has appealed for money from the city to buy cat food and for a planned neutering scheme, which would prevent the shipyard cats population from growing. (kk/mmj)