Sleeping and hiding animals at risk when large rubbish piles are ignited
RSPCA South Australia is asking property owners to not only check in with their council about fire restrictions but also to make a lot of noise and take other precautions before igniting rubbish piles.
"Animals often choose unsafe places to hide and sleep, especially if it's cold, and apart from domestic animals there could also be wildlife like lizards, possums, echidnas and snakes in these piles," RSPCA SA Rescue Team Leader Nalika van Loenen said.
"The safest way to incinerate a pile of rubbish is to feed the rubbish slowly into a separate burn site next to the pile.
"This way the fire is controlled and any animals sheltering under the pile have time to escape."
The request from RSPCA SA follows an incident at Sellicks Hill on Monday 16 September in which a cat suffered serious burns.
The approximately four-year-old male cat is thought to have been sleeping somewhere in the middle of a large rubbish pile when the property's owner - unaware of the cat's presence – ignited the pile. The cat fled into a neighbouring property where a woman - on seeing the cat was burnt - immediately captured the animal and rushed him to the Southcoast Animal Hospital at Port Noarlunga.
The hospital's vet team administered pain relief and sedation before cleaning and bandaging the cat's burnt paws. He was transferred into the care of RSPCA SA's vet team the next day. Senior RSPCA SA Vet Dr Fauve Buckley said the cat suffered deep burns to all four paw pads that will take a few more weeks to fully heal.
"One of the main concerns with burns is the risk of infection," Dr Buckley said.
"This cat has been on a strict regime of regular wound cleaning and debriding (removal of burnt skin), soaking in sterile saline solution and rebandaging.
"Pain management has also been critical, along with regular blood tests to monitor his kidney function and infection risk."
Despite his gregarious demeanour suggesting he might be someone's pet no-one has yet come forward to claim him and he is not microchipped.
"He really is the sweetest boy, despite all he's been through, and now that we're confident he's going to make it we've decided to name him Monty."
Monty is living with an experienced foster carer to continue his recovery and is expected to be available to adopt by the end of the month.
RSPCA SA has today launched an emergency fundraising appeal to help cover the cost of Monty's veterinary treatment and ongoing care.
