Horses

The Esther Honey Foundation is the only veterinary service in the Cook Islands and although our mission is limited to treating dogs and cats, we extend our care to all of the island animals in need of care, including the local horse population. As part of this we recently visited the ponies of the horse riding business for a routine health check.

In general the horses of the island are sound and healthy; however a lack of hard horse feed on the island means maintaining horses in a good body condition requires extra attention- particularly for the ageing horses with worn teeth. The isolation of the island population means that infectious diseases are rare and vaccinations generally not required. Regular worming and good husbandry are our main recommendations.


Our health check of the riding ponies identified only one animal requiring attention. A little mare had developed saddle sores over her spine and also had slightly swollen joints. We cleaned the sores with antiseptic solution and spoke to the owner about resting her until they are healed, and also ensuring she is tethered in good pasture to help her gain some weight. A recheck is scheduled in a couple of weeks so we can make sure she is getting better.

In the pictures are Michelle and Eilidh, two vets from Australia and Scotland.

Desex Those Cats

With the amount of homeless adult cats and kittens currently at the Esther Honey Foundation looking for homes, we cannot stress enough that we need to try and control the population of cats on Rarotonga.


In order to control the population of cats we not only need to de-sex them but also place them back into the area that they are coming from to compete with the other cats that are not de-sexed.

If we do not place them back then it creates a gap for a non de-sexed cat to move in and have kittens. A cat, on average, can have four kittens per litter and two litters per year. These kittens can start having their own kittens as young as six months.

In large populations of cats contained in small areas, diseases can spread very quickly which can also have an effect on humans such as worms and fleas.With that in mind, cats also make great rat catchers, while killing the occasional moko or cockroach. Rats have a more devastating impact on bird populations than cats do, but there does need to be a balance.

We have some wonderful cats here at the clinic that could do the job and one cat that probably wouldn't be any good at catching rats at all, but is looking for a nice home. Lucy is a very friendly cat but is missing her front leg. She doesn't need any special treatment, just a nice home. She behaves just like a normal cat.

We also have an old dog looking for a nice home. We call him Hovis and I'm sure he would like a home other than the clinic. Please come down and see them and the other residents at the clinic.