Homeless cats find a safe and happy place at Homeless Cat Island
Homeless Cat Island is a shelter in Pudong New Area for homeless felines. It features bright orange decor and cat-related elements. With a safe and humane space for the animals, the shelter has become a nationwide model for homeless animal management advocacy and education.
The site is the epitome of Shanghai's efforts towards a pet-friendly city, and the initiative has been well-received from all sides.
The shelter is a charity program promoting responsible pet ownership and TNR (Trap-Neuter-Release), which is currently supported and actively practiced by the Shanghai government, industry partners, and enterprises. TNR is an effective and recognized way of controlling the number of homeless animals, and is more humane than euthanasia.
A TNR van that does patrols for homeless dogs and cats.
The shelter and Shanghai's first TNR sterilization surgery mobile van are evidence of the initiative to find effective solutions. Through these initiatives, the health and welfare of homeless animals are improved, and potential public health hazards are cut. Pet food maker Royal Canin not only supports TNR education at the shelter, but also the TNR surgery vehicles conducting sterilizations within communities.
Covering 2 hectares of land, Homeless Cat Island was established in late 2022 and although it's not a true island, parts of it are surrounded by water. It also serves as the city's first homeless cat management center and homeless animal education base. Residents can visit to learn about scientific feeding, disease control and prevention, TNR, adopting homeless pets, and charity activities.
It currently houses approximately 500 homeless cats, some of which were pets that had been abandoned.
TNR slogan at the Homeless Cat Island shelter.
"About 2,000 homeless cats are spayed or neutered through TNR in Shanghai annually,’ said Zha Zhenliang, head of the city's homeless cat management program. "Away from the urban hustle and bustle and vehicles, it provides a shelter for homeless cats without the danger of hunger and disease."
The site is its own safe community for cats with a restaurant, a playground and even a clinic.
Chen Hao (left) and Shanghai Daily reporter Fiona.
Chen Hao and his wife are the only people on site and they have been living there for three years.
To begin, the program mainly involved TNR mobile vans driving to communities to help neuter homeless animals, Chen said.
"However, many problems were spotted by residents during community sterilization," Chen said. "For example, where should these cats be released after sterilization, thus the origin of the island."
Each cat brought to the shelter will be sterilized if it hasn't already had the operation. It won't be released until it has recovered.
Cats that have already been sterilized are isolated for three to five days to give them time to get familiar with the environment, and to observe their stress levels, Chen said.
"We define the island as a safe place for cats as the communities they used to live in may not be suitable for them," he said. "It is like a 'Land of Peach Blossoms' for cats."
"I don't feel lonely as I think getting along with these little animals is much simpler than getting along with people."
The felines eat approximately 100 kilograms of cat food daily, which is mainly donated from companies such as Royal Canin.
Approximately 100 kilograms of cat food is consumed daily on the island.
Chen advised people not to take homeless cats to the shelter if the residential complexes they live in are safe as relocation can be stressful for animals.
"The island is not a rescue center and we only take in cats that can live independently but are squeezed out of their communities due to physical disabilities or other problems," Chen said.
Two dozen or more cats are adopted each month, but there are always more cats on the island awaiting adoption and a permanent home.
"If people want to adopt a cat from the island, we will isolate it and give the adopters a cooling-off period at the same time," Chen said. "Adopters need to prepare the daily necessities during that period and we will make an assessment on their situation, such as their home environment."
If an adopter decides not to keep their cat, they must return it to the island.
"We will tell them not to abandon the animal," Chen added.
Homeless Cat Island also features a room where basic knowledge is provided about homeless cats. This ranges from sterilization to vaccinations and health examinations.
"We also work with companies on the TNR campaign," Zha said. "We visit pet exhibitions with our homeless cats, where we hope more people will want to adopt them."
