Pretoria - The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, is due to decide this week on what is in the best interests of a pure-bred Sphynx cat called Eros - and the fur is expected to fly.
Alma van Zyl, of Pretoria, said in papers before the court that Eros - her little prince - was the love of her life and beauty personified. She is set on fighting for her hairless boy, who is more than a pet to her.
But Bernadette Willers, of Ruimsig in Roodepoort, with whom Eros has been staying since the end of 2012, claimed it is in Eros’s best interests to remain in her care.
The matter was before the court in May last year, but it was postponed indefinitely, as the case was not ready to proceed.
Van Zyl’s lawyer, Mariza Oelofse, told the Pretoria News yesterday that they would be back in court today to get the cat back.
Willers, in return, had submitted a counter-claim for the expenses she incurred over the years for Eros’s maintenance, if the court decided the cat had to go back to Van Zyl.
But both parties are adamant not to give Eros up. “My client’s position has not changed over the years. She is still as driven as ever to get Eros back, if not more. This is a serious matter and I am working equally hard on this case, as in any other case.”
Oelofse said people should not joke about this trial, as the law is there for everyone. “As far as the law is there for us, we will use it.”
She said both parties were well aware of the legal costs incurred in cases before the court, but they were willing to take their chances.
Van Zyl said in her court papers: “I want my little blue-eyed boy - my little lion - back.”
Her problems started when she asked Willers in 2012 to take care of the cat for a while, after she had a panic attack and had anxiety problems.
But Willers refused to hand the cat back to Van Zyl, arguing that apart from Eros being happy with her and being well cared for, his mental state was also much better.
But Van Zyl, who has a tattoo of the cat, said she had always been a devoted mother to Eros, until he was removed from her care.
Van Zyl is asking the court to instruct the sheriff to fetch the cat and hand it back to her. But Willers’s defence is that Eros had suffered mistreatment and abuse at the hands of Van Zyl and that he was malnourished.
She also said she spent more than R100 000 on rehabilitating Eros, including anti-depressants and wants the money back.
Both parties have called numerous experts, including animal behaviourists, to testify on their behalf as to what was in the best interests of Eros.