A prize draw at the Hsinchu County Government’s Livestock Disease Control Center on Tuesday made 16 people the new owners of 12 Ragdoll and four British Shorthair cats.
Hsinchu County Commissioner Yang Wen-ko (楊文科) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) presided over the draw hosted by the center.
Yang said the center had discovered an illegal kitten mill in Jhudong Township (竹東) in April and subsequently brought back 22 cats found at the establishment.
Photo courtesy of the Hsinchu County Government via CNA
Some of the cats were diagnosed with feline distemper — a highly contagious virus found in dogs and cats — when they were rescued, while others were found to be pregnant, Yang said.
The center said it had decided to put 16 of the cats found at the kitten mill up for adoption, adding that all individuals who won the draw could take the cats home with them as long as they met ownership criteria set by the center.
Drawing from a selection of 556 people, yesterday’s draw selected 16 individuals to adopt the center’s orphaned cats.
The center said that it would monitor the conditions of the cats after the adoptions are processed.
The first and second prize winners surnamed Lin (林) and Wu (巫) respectively, won Ragdoll cats.
However, the center later found Wu to be ineligible to adopt as she had failed to take her current pet cat to a veterinary clinic for a rabies vaccination this year.
Prizewinner Lin said she is a resident of Jhubei (竹北) and a devoted disciple of the Tianhou Temple, adding that she had made a special trip to the temple before the event to pray to win yesterday’s draw.
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