27/05/2026
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀
Every evening, just before dark, my dear old friend, an elderly man in his mid 70s walked quietly through the dunes near La Mata beach in Torrevieja carrying bags of cat food.
For more than a decade, this was his routine.
Every single day.
Winter.
Summer.
Holidays.
Illness.
It did not matter.
The cats were waiting.
Most people never noticed him.
Some smiled politely.
Others insulted him.
Most simply walked past without ever thinking about what kind of life leads a man in his mid-70s to spend every evening feeding abandoned cats in a nature park.
His name is Govert.
And tonight, he is lying in a hospital bed in Torrevieja after one of the most brutal assaults we have ever witnessed within our rescue community.
Two weeks ago, after returning home from feeding his colonies in Parque del Molino del Agua, Govert went for his usual evening walk opposite the Torre del Moro park, only meters from his home.
According to the information we have, somebody was allegedly waiting for him behind rubbish bins.
The attacker beat him so severely that he suffered broken ribs, head trauma, extensive bruising and serious internal injuries.
At one point, the assault escalated into an apparent attempt to strangle him using a stick across his throat.
Only the arrival of a passing vehicle interrupted the attack and likely saved his life.
Today, Govert remains in critical condition in Torrevieja hospital.
He barely speaks.
He wont see visitors.
He does not eat.
He is in a deep psychological shock.
He has had a heart failure and kidneys are shutting down. At this moment, we do not know whether he will survive.
The incident is currently under active police investigation.
There has been no known media reporting.
No public awareness.
Very little information.
Only silence.
And perhaps that silence says more than words ever could.
Because people like Govert and his wife Veronica have spent almost 30 years living inside another kind of silence entirely.
The silence surrounding abandoned animals.
The silence surrounding elderly rescuers spending their pensions caring for them.
The silence surrounding the emotional destruction that slowly comes from carrying suffering almost nobody else wants to touch.
For nearly three decades, Govert and Veronica, originally from the Netherlands, have dedicated their lives to the street cats of Torrevieja.
Not as hobbyists.
Not as collectors.
Not as the “crazy cat people” some like to call them.
But as ordinary human beings who slowly sacrificed their own lives filling a void society itself abandoned.
Their colonies near La Mata beach have become a dumping ground for unwanted kittens, injured cats, sick animals and pets people no longer wanted.
So every day, they kept going back.
Feeding.
Treating.
Sterilising.
Rescuing.
Burying.
Repeating.
Year after year.
Using their own pensions and private money to do work public systems are often legally expected to manage.
Every year, friends from the Netherlands travel to Torrevieja for a week to help trap and sterilise newly abandoned cats because the situation has become too overwhelming for two elderly people to handle alone.
Over time, Veronica developed such extensive practical knowledge in street cat medicine that even veterinary professionals occasionally turn to her experience in difficult cases.
And Govert became part of the landscape itself.
People knew the old man with the cat food.
What most never understood is that rescue work at this level is not simply about feeding cats.
It means enduring years of hostility from people who resent the animals being there at all.
Being insulted while putting down food and water.
Being mocked for caring.
Hearing constant complaints, threats and cruelty.
Watching terrified cats chased by unleashed dogs for amusement.
Living for years under emotional pressure, exhaustion and conflict that slowly changes who you are as a person.
And after enough years, society simply looks at these people and says:
“Crazy cat people.”
We do not know whether this assault was connected to Govert’s rescue work.
And it is important to say clearly that we cannot make claims we do not know to be true.
But when somebody spends years experiencing hostility connected to the very thing they dedicate their life to, it becomes impossible not to feel a deep and uncomfortable fear that one day something terrible might happen.
Now something terrible has happened.
And an old man who spent his evenings feeding abandoned animals is fighting for his life in silence.
Today, I am asking you for two things.
First, please pray for Govert.
Pray that he survives.
Pray that he finds his way back to Veronica and the cats waiting for him in the dunes of La Mata.
And secondly, please do not look away from what this story is really about.
Because if people like Govert disappear, who exactly takes their place?
𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽
We are urgently asking for volunteers to help feed the colonies while Govert remains in hospital.
Even one or two evenings per week would make an enormous difference.
If you live in Torrevieja or the surrounding area, have your own car, and would like to help, please contact us.
Thank you.
Please share 🙏
Dad 🤍
