Written by Natasha Anne Shackleton, Tracy Conn, Yael Bayer and Christopher Mynhardt
Professional photography by Riaan van der Merwe
Mango, the dark-ginger tabby, disappeared shortly after being adopted. This is the story of how a group of cat-lovers came together to find him and bring him home.
MISSING MANGO
By Natasha Anne Shackleton
I foster cats for The Cat Foundation, and Mango was my foster; he was adopted by a family in Eden Glen, not far from Johannesburg, but he managed to get out and disappear on the 29th of May 2018.
Devastated, I travelled the over 50-kilometre journey from Centurion, where I live, to Edenvale to try and find him. But Mango was nowhere to be seen. It would be another month before he was safely home.
It took several people to rescue him, including an alert pet-sitter, a community cat group, and some very dedicated volunteers. We’d even contacted an animal communicator who’d pinpointed his location at less than 900 metres away from where he was eventually found.
On receiving the call that a dark-ginger cat fitting Mango’s description had been spotted in a drain near two housing complexes, I immediately headed out, filled with nerves that it might not be him. To my joy, YES… it was Mango! He responded to me immediately but was terrified; we would need to trap him. When we finally caught him, I was ecstatic – and Mango was just as happy to be back home. In fact, he now cries for me if I leave him alone for a second.
MANGO FOUND
By Tracy Conn, the alert pet-sitter who found Mango
I do pet sitting for Sherbrooke and Sheretons housing complexes in Lopis Place, Eden Glen. On Saturday morning (30th June), I was on the road to feed some doggies when I noticed a little fluffy figure come slinking out of the stormwater drain.
As I got closer and stopped my car to investigate, the figure darted back into the drain. On investigation, I saw an adorable furry ginger face looking wide-eyed up at me.
I could see that, although the kitty was very nervous and scared, it wasn’t feral and must belong to someone; I took the best picture I could and posted it onto my pet-sitting group, hoping that it belonged to someone in either of the two nearby housing complexes.
I was told that people were feeding him but that no one could catch him; I made some calls but had no joy in getting someone to help me. By Sunday night I couldn’t sleep a wink. With a cold front rolling in and downpours predicted, I was beyond worried about the little baby making it through the night.
Networking for Mango
I was up and out of my house early on Monday morning to go and check on the ginger cat. Thank the Lord he was there and looked okay. As soon as I had a chance that morning, I phoned Sussane Harremse from Friends of the Cat, who gave me the number of Yael Bayer from Edenvale Cats.
Yael, in turn, contacted Christopher Mynhardt and arranged for me to meet him later that day to trap the stray kitty.
Not long after, I received a WhatsApp message from Christopher: he and Yael thought the cat could be Mango, a young cat who’d been missing for a whole month. Natasha, the cat’s foster, would meet us at the drain.
An amazing moment
Natasha arrived shortly after I did. I suggested she sit as close to the stormwater drain as possible and call his name while I watched to see what he would do. Before, he’d run straight into the drain at the first sign of someone approaching.
Well, the result was simply amazing: as soon as she called out “Mango!” I saw his little ginger head pop up and Natasha heard him meow, and I knew it was her kitty –my heart pounded with joy.
Christopher and his partner arrived, set the traps and, later on, successfully trapped Mango. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay there too much longer as I had my furbies at home, and I knew that Christopher had the situation totally under control.
It was so amazing to be a part of this happy ending and my heart is still so very happy!
EDENVALE COMMUNITY CATS STEPS IN
By Yael Bayer, Chairperson of Edenvale Community Cats
We at Edenvale Community Cats do TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) according to Universal Practice Guidelines in Edenvale and surrounds.
Tracy contacted me via Friends of the Cat. She’d noticed a ginger cat going in and out of a stormwater drain near the entrance of the housing complex where she was pet sitting and, as we were experiencing very cold weather, she was concerned. She’d been told that a few ladies from the complex had been putting down water and food for this cat, but she wanted to trap him and get him to safety.
I contacted Christopher, one of our volunteers. As he lived right across from the complex, he’d find out who was feeding the cat and try to trap it after work that day.
The ladies who’d been feeding the cat messaged him and included a picture of the stormwater drain ginger, which he forwarded to me. My heart skipped a little beat: I’d just seen a Facebook post about a missing ginger “catten” called Mango. In fact, Mango’s foster, Natasha, had contacted me before about her search for him.
Looking closely at the picture I’d been sent, it struck me that this stormwater drain cat did look a lot like Mango – the same colouring patterns and shape of head, as well as being a young “catten”.
When I asked Christopher how far away Amanda Road (where Mango had gone missing) was from his complex, and he told me it wasn’t far, we were convinced that this cat could be the missing Mango. I contacted Natasha and told her not to get too excited but that I thought we might have found her Mango cat. She agreed to meet Christopher at the complex as soon as he got there; she actually arrived before him.
Trapping Mango was somewhat of a challenge: the road was busy at that time of day and Mango is a quite a clever kitty. He’d come out to the trap, stretch and grab the bait fish, and then dash back into the storm drain. But, with much patience and perseverance, they managed to get him. It wasn’t long before Mango was safely home with Natasha.
We are so happy to have been able to help in his safe recovery.
CAT IN A TRAP
By Christopher Mynhardt, who helped trap Mango
I volunteer for feral cat NPO Edenvale Community Cats; I have my own feeding stations and I also trap cats and rescue kittens (all in my free time after my full-time job).
When our chairperson, Yael, received the call from Tracy on the 30th of June about a ginger cat stuck in the drain, she contacted me, knowing it was “my area”. When she asked if I knew the housing complex and the road name, I couldn’t help laughing, because it was my road and the complex across from ours.
She explained that Tracy was quite upset because this cat had been there for days and she’d really battled to find any help. Yael asked if I could please try to trap this cat and, of course, I readily agreed – it’s basically right at home and it was a freezing cold day!
A plan in motion
I immediately contacted our complex’s body corporate to find out if they knew about the cat; not only did they know but the ladies who’d been feeding him sent me a picture.
Next, I phoned my partner, Darrian Rogers, who had to fetch me after work, and asked him to swing by the shops first and pick up some pilchards with which to lure the cat out of the drain. (Smelly pilchards are one of the best baits for cat traps – most cats just can’t resist.)
Yael messaged me asking if I thought it might be Mango, who’d been missing since the 29th of May; Natasha had been putting up posters and sharing posts on Facebook endlessly in search of Mango. I agreed that it was possible and, when I checked on Google Maps, I saw that Mango’s last location was just three blocks away. It seemed increasingly likely that this cat was indeed the missing Mango.
Natasha eagerly agreed to meet me there along with Tracy and Darrian.
How Mango was caught
Tracy and Natasha were already there when Darrian and I arrived. I got the traps and set them up, but our problem was that this road is very busy at the best of times, never mind after work. The cat was also very clever with these traps, which involve placing bait and the cat going inside, causing the trap to snap shut. We decided to block half of the road in an attempt to catch it.
Two hours ticked by, and, by about 18h30, when we were all feeling helpless and very disappointed but refusing to give up, I decided to put a stick trap down and give the rope to Natasha to pull.
After patiently sitting still for about 20 minutes, I quietly told Natasha to pull the rope and – snap! – Mango was finally caught!
Natasha agreed with my suggestion to take the trap with Mango in it into our house and move him to the carrier in our spare room; if he managed to get out he’d be in an enclosed space and safe. Once Mango was successfully transferred to his carrier, he could finally go home after just over a month living in a stormwater drain.
This was one of the happiest days ever in animal rescue: a long-lost cat was found, rescued from the very cold weather, and it was my absolute pleasure to have helped reunite Natasha and her beloved Mango.
Thank you, Tracy, for bringing Mango’s plight to our attention. Thank you, Yael, for always being on the ball with these things. And thank you, Darrian, for driving around to get me pilchards and being there in the cold with us.
