Colorful paintings are the cat's whiskers
Children with their certificates and representatives of the organizers.
Imaginative paintings of homeless cats' houses created by local students in primary and middle schools were honored with certificates in downtown Huangpu District on Saturday.
More than 100 paintings were collected in three weeks. A total of 22 children won prizes in the competition.
Real cats' houses were made and put into some residential communities by the sponsors – Shanghai Public Service Foundation of Volunteers and pet food company – Royal Canin.
There are an estimated three million homeless cats in Shanghai.
The customized cat houses along with children's fancy creations and loving, provide shelter for stray cats as well as a beautiful scenery of the city.
"The homeless cats are our good friends," said Zhang Lijiayi, 10, the first prize winner of the competition."The way I think of getting along with those cats is just like my painting. Cats can rest quietly by the window without being hurt or disturbed by human beings."
Zhang Lijiayi, 10-years-old, "Rose, window and cat"
Li Yichen, 13-years-old, "Over the horizon"
Xi Chenxuan, 10-years-old, "Please give cats a home"
The painting competition is an extended link of the governmental public welfare project for neutering stray cats. It also brings the concept – responsible pet ownership – into campuses.
In the past five years, Royal Canin has cooperated with 120 pet hospitals to neuter nearly 2,000 stray dogs and cats, distributed nearly 5,000 copies of the "Reading Book of Stray Dogs and Cats," and organized responsible online education on pet breeding, accumulating more than 40 million page views.
It is also deeply involved in the government's "Trap Neuter Release" (TNR) projects, volunteering to serve up to 50 residential communities.
"Building a society in which people and pets live in harmony requires concerted efforts from all walks of life, and there is still a long way to go," said Jasmine Dang, Corporate Affairs Director of Royal Canin China. "We yearn to create a better world for pets."
A colorful cat house on the lawn of a community.
