Unsung Hero

Skabenga, the resident cat at Umhlanga’s lush hotel The Oyster Box, has been welcoming guests to the award-winning establishment for over 10 years.

- Anna Trapido

FROM RAGS TO RICHES

I think I must be the luckiest cat in KwaZulu-Natal, maybe even the world. I had a difficult start in life: I was a stray kitten, orphaned and alone. With no basket to call my own, I was destined for a life of scratching through bin bags. But something inside me said that fate and feline fortune favour the brave, so I wandered into the foyer of the 5-star hotel and introduced myself to the staff. I was too young to know that this was not normal kitty conduct. That was over a decade ago and, I must say, I truly fell on my feet. The lovely ladies at the front desk gave me a saucer of milk and a muchneeded cuddle. They also gave me the name Skabenga – an adaptation of the Zulu word ‘sgebengu’, which means ‘hooligan’ or ‘vagabond’. I think it suits my style.

ATTUNED TO PURR-FECTION