CAT lovers in a Nanshan residential estate are trying to raise residents’ awareness to care for stray cats after a homeowner in the estate threatened to poison the cats.

    The homeowner said in a WeChat group that he would poison the stray cats in the estate, because his family member was scratched by a cat. Screenshots of his messages were posted online.

    One of the cat lovers, surnamed Zhao, said that she was worried and outraged when she saw the homeowner’s messages. “We’ve never been scratched or bitten by stray cats in the estate, even while feeding them for so many years. Sometimes we even have to save some cats from being mistreated by people,” she said.

    According to Zhao, cat lovers have taken care of stray cats in the estate for several years. Apart from feeding the homeless cats, they had also vaccinated the cats to keep them healthy and sterilized the cats to maintain the low-growth rate of the stray cats in the estate.

    “The cats know how to defend their territory, so they keep other stray cats away from the estate, which has actually relieved the burden of taking care of stray cats,” Zhao said.

    But Zhao added that some of the cats had been abused by residents at the estate, and cat lovers raised money to pay the medical bills for the injured cats.

    Xu, a member of the Szcat Animal Protection Volunteer Association, said that cat lovers in the estate have done an incredible job of helping stray cats in a scientific way. He said that without birth-control, the rapid reproduction of cats in many Shenzhen estates had created a vicious cycle.

    According to Xu, cat lovers can apply for free sterilizations for stray cats from many animal protection organizations in Shenzhen.

    Meanwhile, cat lovers in the estate are negotiating with the estate’s management office, hoping to get in touch with the resident who was scratched by the cat. They also plan to organize free lectures and put up posters to help more people understand the stray animals and get along with them. (Zhang Yang)