Cats are traditionally viewed as wicked and unlucky in Taiwanese culture.
This may be the reason why cat lovers sometimes feel secluded in modern society.
However, feline aficianadoes may have noticed a slight change of mood over the past few years, as evidenced by the emergence of a shelter network for stray cats run by cat lovers on the Internet.
PHOTO COURTESY OF HALFWAY ANGELS FOR CATS PROJECT
There are no statistics that show how many "members" take part in the network, but one thing is for sure: If you issue a virtual cry for help for kittens you find on the street, you will probably be overwhelmed with heart-warming responses online.
Discussion boards on university bulletin board systems (BBS) served as the cradle for the loose-knit network. For instance, the "Cats Board" on a BBS called "PTT" -- short for Professional Technology Temple -- run by National Taiwan University's Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, exemplifies this trend. On this site, people like Kelly Lai (賴凱俐) will greet you with surprising hospitality.
Lai, a graduate student of the Graduate Institute of Land Economics at National Chengchi University, started a halfway home for stray cats last August. She has cared for about 13 cats since then, and she said most of them were tough to take care of.
Running a "halfway house" for cats can sometimes mean great financial burdens, as the expenses for food, medication and inoculations add up.
In an interview last week, Lai said that she once spent NT$7,000 (US$212) a month on special formula milk powder and medication to save two newborn kittens.
Though she has seven part-time jobs to make ends meet, she said such a burden left her with no choice but to seek help from the network.
"It is very important to remain connected to other moms and dads, because in a situation like this, you can get financial help from others," she said, adding that the canned food for kittens she received from others helped her get through a few weeks before she got her next paycheck.
This is also why the founders of Meetpets.com, Su Sheng-chieh (蘇聖傑) -- better known to other animal lovers as "KT" -- and "Leaf" (who wished to remain anonymous), launched their "Halfway Angels for Cats Project" four years ago.
There have been numerous halfway parents registering their personal information in the project. The Web site, run by Su and Leaf, offers detailed and easily accessible cat and dog adoption information.
Su quit his job and now runs the Web site full-time, living off of his savings, he said. He said that although the Web site is not a registered non-profit organization, it does use all of its donations to help stray animals.
"We would like to establish an information exchange platform where the halfway parents' power can be concentrated," Leaf told the Taipei Times last Sunday in Su's apartment in Taipei, where at least 30 sheltered cats were lodging.
"Halfway parents can also apply for the Web site's subsidies in order to neuter or provide inoculations for cats," Leaf said. "[By so doing], we can reduce their burden."
Since being part of the network is not likely to make these "cat angels" independently wealthy, what is the force driving them to continue their work?
For Leaf, who has been a halfway mom for cats for nearly 10 years, her passion and love for animals keeps her going, she said. In addition to the cats she is temporarily sheltering, Leaf also has 10 cats of her own.
However, for Lai, being a halfway mom for cats is a mission.
"Though sometimes I feel a little bothered by the halfway work, I tell myself: `It's OK. It's a sacrifice,'" she said.
She started to pass on the knowledge of how to run a halfway home for cats to others on the BBS, instead of bringing every single cat home.
Su and Leaf say they have achieved the goal of establishing a halfway network for the animals they love. Therefore they have moved on, and are trying to realize a bigger dream -- putting together a "TNR" -- trap, neuter and release -- project into practice for stray cats. Such a program could effectively reduce the number of newborn strays, Su said.
The Taipei City Government has initiated a trial of the program this year in Da-an District with their help.
"Our dream is to create a harmonic world between human beings and cats," said Su, the 30-something Web site founder.
Visit the Web site at www.meetpets.idv.tw.
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