On the morning of 21st November 2013, animal rights activists in Shanghai stopped a truck loaded with 600 cats on Zhenguang Road. Ball, Cotton and Tender were among these poor animals, scared, starved and cramped in tiny bamboo cages.

From reliable sources, we knew that the cats on this truck were being transported to Guangdong meat markets. This rescue event attracted hundreds of local rescuers, activists and frontline volunteers, as well as the local media. Many people who have recently lost their cats also came to the scene – amazingly, some people actually found their cats and burst into tears seeing that they were in such a horrific condition. After a 14hour standoff, all 600 cats were successfully rescued.

Footage of this rescue event can be seen on a documentary we published on our YouTube channel (from 2:00 to 3:00 minutes).

To help with settling the rescued cats, several local rescue groups and organisations took the responsibility to house the cats and help with the post-rescue care. ThinkAdoption took in 70 cats, and our partner group Paws Pals Animal Rescue (PPAR) took in 17 cats and under the care of Guoguo Animal Clinic. The rest were taken in by foster volunteers, animal hospitals and rescue groups.

PPAR has done a great job in looking after the 17 cats they took in, despite the sad fact that a couple of them didn’t make it due to severe injury, the majority of the cats have recovered really well and many have been adopted to loving homes. To help more of these cats get a second chance in life, TACN has teamed up  with PPAR in order to help them with the adoption.

Luckily, with the help of our German Associate Eva, we were contacted by some potential adopters in Germany who would like to adopt a cat meat trade survivor. After few rounds of communication with the potential adopters and our coordinator Karen from PPAR in Shanghai, we have found 3 perfect matches! 3 well recovered cats for whom no Chinese owners have come forward – Ball, Cotton and Tender – are getting ready to start their new life in their new homes in Germany this May.

This international adoption is VITAL because it allows the cats to have a second chance in life, while also raising awareness abroad of the plight of meat-trade cats in China.

With Eva’s help, our team in Shanghai have already started preparing the cats for their journey. Ball, Cotton and Tender have already had their vaccinations, microchips and blood tests, and have also received their health certificates.

Ball was such a brave boy having his microchip implanted

Now the cats are all ready and awaiting Eva to bring them back to Germany when she visits China in person this May, then on their arrival into Germany, each of them will be picked up by their new parent(s) at the airport and finally start their new lives in peace. We then will share with you their progress and new lives!

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