December 1, 2024, 9:06 am | Read time: 9 minutes
Lea Lichtner from Hamburg was honored at this year’s Petfluencer Award for her account “croatiancatcrew” and her commitment to stray cats in the category “Purpose.” PETBOOK spoke to the animal rights activist about her commitment to solving the growing stray cat problem in Germany.
In Hamburg, over 10,000 stray cats live in often appalling conditions. Unneutered outdoor cats contribute to the growing population. Petfluencer and animal rights activist Lea Lichtner has been raising awareness about this issue on social media and was honored for her efforts in the “Purpose” category at this year’s German Petfluencer Awards. PETBOOK spoke to the animal welfare activist about her Instagram channel, “croatiancatcrew,” and the Germany-wide stray cat problem.
“All cat owners are not only responsible for their own cats but also for their offspring”
PETBOOK: Germany has a stray cat problem. It is estimated that there are more than 10,000 stray cats in Hamburg alone. Why are they hardly ever seen, and how did such a large population come about?
Lea Lichtner: “In Hamburg – and I think you can apply this to the whole of Germany – the stray cats live well hidden, unlike in countries such as Croatia and Greece, where you meet strays everywhere as a vacationer. Often residing in industrial areas or community gardens within the city, these cats have ample opportunities to hide during the day.
This large population results from unneutered outdoor cats—those with homes that are also allowed outside. If they are not neutered, they unfortunately reproduce quite quickly. A cat can become pregnant up to three times a year. If these kittens are born on the street and are not neutered and then also have kittens, it adds up very quickly.”
“Neutering can also have benefits for many animals”
Why are you calling on owners of outdoor cats to neuter their animals?
“If you follow animal welfare organizations on social media channels, you quickly see the suffering of street cats. I’m lucky at my feeding station that most of the animals are healthy (as far as you can tell from the outside). There are so many cats in animal shelters, animal welfare organizations, or on the street that don’t have a warm place, medical care, or adequate food.
In my opinion, everyone should take responsibility for this and not cause even more suffering. In my opinion, all cat owners who keep unneutered outdoor cats are responsible not only for their own cats but also for the offspring produced by their cats. Neutering also benefits your own pets: neutered males typically have smaller territories, engage in fewer fights with other males, and neutered females are less prone to mammary tumors. So all in all, neutering is less stressful for your animals and has some advantages.”
“I care about strays because I think it’s unfair how they have to live just because people haven’t had their cats neutered”
One of the things you do for these cats is set up a feeding station. What exactly does your work involve, and why are these cats so important to you?
“Upon arriving at the feeding station, I immediately begin preparing the cats’ food. After all, they are always hungry, and I don’t want to keep them waiting. (laughs) With no electricity at the feeding station, I rely on boiling water in a thermos to rinse out the bowls. Then there’s new food, which I usually put away from me so that even the shy cats can eat.
During this time, I fill up the water bowls, clean the feeding shelter (an old rabbit hutch), and remove leaves and snow from the sleeping hutches in the fall/winter. When everything is clean, I put the bowls in the shelter and walk around the grounds to see which strays I can spot hiding in the bushes. Most of the time, the trusting cats come to me for a cuddle. If the weather is good, I stay on site for about two hours, talk to the shy cats to make them more trusting, and cuddle the already trusting cats.
“I see it as my responsibility to stand up for the animals that have no voice”
I care so much about strays because I think it’s so unfair that they have to live there without regular medical checks and a warm place to sleep just because people may not have had their cats neutered. These cats have just as much right to be cared for as cats that were planned and born in safe environments. I see it as my responsibility to stand up for those animals who don’t have a voice. And I’m just a total cat lover and love spending time with them.”
What are the reactions to this? Do you sometimes encounter a lack of understanding?
“On Instagram, I’m mostly met with understanding and compassion. But sometimes people don’t understand that strays are also important and need to be looked after. For example, some free-range owners are annoyed that strays are caught for neutering because sometimes free-rangers accidentally end up in the traps and then have to be picked up by the owners at the animal shelter. Others are of the opinion that neutering is not good for a cat and that female cats, in particular, should become pregnant before being neutered. I keep noticing from statements like this that there is still a lot of ignorance about cat suffering and the topic of neutering in general.”
This marked the beginning of Lea Lichtner’s petfluencer career with her Croatiancatcrew
How did you actually get into social media?
“I created the account in 2022 after adopting my three Croatian animal welfare cats. Like most Petfluencer accounts, my account was actually meant to be a personal “diary” to record all the moments. However, I quickly found that I really enjoyed creating reels and I really enjoyed telling the world about myself and my cats. When I switched my account from English to German, I had a completely different way of communicating with people, and from then on, topics such as stray cats or life with a handicapped cat became more present.”
On Insta, you call on people to hit the hood of their car before every journey. Why is that?
“Especially between fall and spring, stray cats, but also outdoor cats, like to use cars as a place to hide and sleep. When the cars are stationary but the engine is still warm, they like to crawl into the engine compartment. There have actually been a few cases where cats were still in the engine compartment even though the car had started. This usually leads to serious injury or even death.
If the cats are lucky, they survive, but after long journeys, they find themselves in a strange place where they can no longer find their way home. If everyone would hit the hood two or three times before the journey, such cases could be prevented. The cats get the chance to escape from the noise and climb down and out of the car.”
“Education is important in order to be able to enforce a nationwide neutering obligation and cat protection ordinance”
What can everyone do to help stray cats? Do you have three tips for people on how they can help strays in their area?
“First of all, I would advise people who want to get involved to ask their local animal shelter or animal welfare organization if there are any feeding places where they can help. That’s how I found my feeding station. As such facilities often don’t have enough resources, you can also become active yourself and catch strays. There is usually the option of borrowing a live trap for a deposit, which you can then use to catch the cats yourself and hand them in to be neutered.
Another point is education. I think everyone can educate their friends, family, or work colleagues about why neutering is important. If many people understand this, it will ultimately be easier to enforce a nationwide mandatory neutering and cat protection ordinance.”
“I am very proud to have won in my favorite award category”
You won this year’s Petfluencer Award in the “Purpose” category. What does this award mean to you?
“An incredible amount. I am very proud to have won in my favorite award category. I was already very proud of what I have achieved with my feed and my Instagram account, but this award is a great appreciation for what I do and share with my community. Winning the Purpose Award encourages me to keep going and shows me that there is a place for more serious topics alongside lots of fun accounts.”
What has changed for you since winning?
“Winning the Purpose Award has given me new visibility. It’s great to see that my commitment to stray cats and animal welfare is perceived so positively. Winning has also given me an incredible amount of motivation. It feels like my work is now being recognized by even more people, which gives me additional motivation to work even harder for animal welfare.”
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What do you have coming up in the next few weeks?
“Now that I’ve finished my studies at almost the same time as the award ceremonies, I have more time again for creative social media projects. I plan to increase my presence on other platforms soon to connect with a broader audience about my concerns. For the strays, I need to inspect all the sleeping huts to ensure they’re secure and refill them with fresh straw before winter sets in. Otherwise, I’m going to enjoy the winter at home with my three cats.”