In 2019 we have financially supported ten NGOs in the province of Guangxi to run stray cat Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR) programmes. Volunteers help trap, neuter, vaccinate, de-worm and return or, where possible, rehome stray cats in local communities.

So far, we have received feedback from half of the participating organisations and the results are really encouraging. According to the reports, 99 cats have been neutered, vaccinated and de-wormed and 54 cats have been found new homes with the rest returned to their neighbourhoods. 

Volunteers set humane traps in residential communities, commercial areas, university campuses and so on. Most of the volunteers worked with locals who feed stray cats to set traps as they know where the cats are and are trusted by them.

Some cats were particularly memorable. Among them was a big ginger tabby in Liuzhou. She was discovered by a university student, who thought she must be pregnant as the cat had a big round abdomen. A volunteer immediately drove to the campus to pick up the cat and take her to the vet. However the vet soon called to confirm that the cat was, in fact, a male! It was simply a case of a very overweight cat. Now the tabby has been adopted and he is settling in with his new family. The next step is to wean him onto a balanced diet so that he can get back to a healthy weight.

Another cat was rescued by a volunteer from Chong Ai You Jia in Nanning. He was found on a car’s engine hood and nicknamed Che Gai which means engine hood.

The volunteer took Che Gai home, having planned to foster him for a while before he could be adopted. However Che Gai was still fairly wild and even bit the volunteer. Not knowing what else to do, the volunteer had him neutered and released back to where he was found. Surprisingly, after a week, when the volunteer went out one day, she saw Che Gai laying right in front of her front door, rolling around and acting cute. That melted the volunteer’s heart and she took him home again. Ever since then, Che Gai has mellowed into a soft sweet kitty, never acting grumpy towards anyone. Perhaps having thought it through, he realised a loving home is better than an engine hood!

In 2019, we also held two stray cat TNR in-depth training courses with Beijing organisation Lucky Cat. One was in Xiamen, Fujian province, the other was in Shi Jiazhuang, Hebei province.

In Xiamen, 36 volunteers from four cities of Fujian province attended the training. The panel included Ms. Zeng from Lucky Cat who shared her experiences from 19 years of running the TNR stray cat programme, and a local vet who spoke about the benefits of sterilisation. The panel answered multiple questions and also gave great advice to volunteers who were new to the work.

The training in Shi Jiazhuang came in two parts: a seminar and hands-on practice. In the seminar, Li Huan from our own cat and dog welfare programme emphasised that animal welfare is particularly significant during TNR programmes. In the practice section, volunteers learned to set traps in a nearby park with a high stray cat population. During the practice they trapped six cats in an hour, including a male cat who had fathered many kittens already! The cats were sent to the vet for de-sexing and released after surgery.

Suki Deng Animals Asia’s China Cat and Dog Welfare Director said:

“These results are really encouraging. With over 50 cats having found new homes in the province so far and many more sterilised, that means there will be fewer cats living tough lives on the streets. This work really encapsulates what Animals Asia does. We work on the ground with authorities and local communities to share vital information and we fund practical programmes that improve animal welfare and community outcomes. We’re really looking forward to hearing back from the other NGOs we’ve funded with more heart-warming stories of cats being given better lives and we vow to continue this work in the years to come.”

So far, Animals Asia has supported over 250 volunteers from over 30 NGOs with in-depth training, and funded the sterilisation and vaccination of over 1,000 cats. We absolutely love our furry feline friends and through the brilliantly run TNR programmes you help fund, fewer cats will be born into a life of hardship on the streets of Guangxi.

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