When Maya Sweet-Escott started taking in abandoned and homeless cats, she had no idea that this act of kindness would cost her in the future — and this is meant literally. The septuagenarian now has about 70 felines for company and is trying to figure out ways to care for them all.
Maya and her husband moved to Giddeens Layout about 30 years ago, along with their beloved Siamese cat, Ching Chong. Learning of her affection for cats, workers started bringing stray cats to the premises and leaving them in the backyard. "I didn't have the heart to turn away any of these sweet creatures. So I took them all in. But I am old now and it's getting difficult to feed them with the little pension that I get," she says.
Maya has been living alone after her husband passed away in 2002. She has two sons, one of whom lives in the UK and 'speaks occasionally' to her. The other son, Martin, lives in Whitefield itself and has been helping his mother take care of her increasing pet population. "He has been a great support to me," says Maya. "But he just had a daughter and it is not fair that I burden him anymore. It is too much for him to handle," she adds.
Maya has enlisted the support of Charlies Animal Rescue Centre (CARE) to help her with the financial and physical requirements. CARE provides food, medication, pays the salaries of the existing staff and takes care of all other incidental expenses. "About six months ago we received an appeal from the cat lovers of Bengaluru requesting us to help rescue and look after these cats," says Sudha Narayan, founder trustee of CARE. "Maya was having a tough time managing them. The numbers grew rapidly because either they were being given to her and the existing ones were not spayed/neutered."
The space in Maya's bungalow soon proved too less to accommodate the new inmates. Two bedrooms were converted into housing areas with 15-20 cats in each one, jostling for space. For others, she made makeshift shelters in the back yard. About 25 of them are living in a big steel cage. They are petrified of strangers as they have never been socialised. The conditions are somewhat pathetic but Maya says that this is all she was able to do with her limited resources.
"I had to employ many people to take care of these animals. Over the past 10 years, their salaries have risen exponentially. So I have never been able to build new accommodation for the cats as all my remaining money was spent on their food. Now that Sudha has volunteered to help me, I am a little more relaxed. Though finance is a problem for their trust also, they have been doing all that they can."
Talking about how no one came forward to adopt these cats as they were 'not pedigree', Maya adds, "I am quite old and anything can happen to me. If I pass away, I don't want these gentle creatures to suffer." Someone once said 'Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness'. Maya proves this is true.
When Maya Sweet-Escott started taking in abandoned and homeless cats, she had no idea that this act of kindness would cost her in the future — and this is meant literally. The septuagenarian now has about 70 felines for company and is trying to figure out ways to care for them all.
Maya and her husband moved to Giddeens Layout about 30 years ago, along with their beloved Siamese cat, Ching Chong. Learning of her affection for cats, workers started bringing stray cats to the premises and leaving them in the backyard. "I didn’t have the heart to turn away any of these sweet creatures. So I took them all in. But I am old now and it’s getting difficult to feed them with the little pension that I get,” she says.
Maya has been living alone after her husband passed away in 2002. She has two sons, one of whom lives in the UK and 'speaks occasionally’ to her. The other son, Martin, lives in Whitefield itself and has been helping his mother take care of her increasing pet population. "He has been a great support to me,” says Maya. "But he just had a daughter and it is not fair that I burden him anymore. It is too much for him to handle,” she adds.
Maya has enlisted the support of Charlies Animal Rescue Centre (CARE) to help her with the financial and physical requirements. CARE provides food, medication, pays the salaries of the existing staff and takes care of all other incidental expenses. "About six months ago we received an appeal from the cat lovers of Bengaluru requesting us to help rescue and look after these cats,” says Sudha Narayan, founder trustee of CARE. "Maya was having a tough time managing them. The numbers grew rapidly because either they were being given to her and the existing ones were not spayed/neutered.”
The space in Maya’s bungalow soon proved too less to accommodate the new inmates. Two bedrooms were converted into housing areas with 15-20 cats in each one, jostling for space. For others, she made makeshift shelters in the back yard. About 25 of them are living in a big steel cage. They are petrified of strangers as they have never been socialised. The conditions are somewhat pathetic but Maya says that this is all she was able to do with her limited resources.
"I had to employ many people to take care of these animals. Over the past 10 years, their salaries have risen exponentially. So I have never been able to build new accommodation for the cats as all my remaining money was spent on their food. Now that Sudha has volunteered to help me, I am a little more relaxed. Though finance is a problem for their trust also, they have been doing all that they can.”
Talking about how no one came forward to adopt these cats as they were 'not pedigree’, Maya adds, "I am quite old and anything can happen to me. If I pass away, I don’t want these gentle creatures to suffer.” Someone once said 'Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness’. Maya proves this is true.