Animal Welfare | Coloane cat sanctuary opens tomorrow

Cat put for adoption on Anima’s website

The opening ceremony for a new cat sanctuary operated by animal welfare group Anima (Macau) will be held tomorrow afternoon at Estrada do Campo in Coloane Village. The new center, dedicated entirely to cats and dubbed “Cat’s Paradise,” will allow operator Anima to concentrate their dog and cat communities respectively in different locations.

Speaking to the Times yesterday, Anima (Macau) president Albano Martins said that moving these animals into two separate locations will increase the quality of life of both types of animals, as they will have significantly more space.

The dogs at the canine shelter at Altinho de Ka-Ho “will now move into the area formerly inhabited by the cats,” said Martins, taking over from some 180 cats under Anima’s care that were moved this week into the cat sanctuary in Coloane.

“We catch almost one cat per day these days,” said Martins, stressing that the problem of stray felines is just as concerning as stray canines. “There are many more stray, abandoned or lost cats in Macau than there are dogs.”

“By our [approximations], one site in Macau may house as many as 1,000 cats,” he added, but declined to specify the location of the site.

“The reason there are so many cats is because they do not [create disturbances for] the government as they will not harm [residents] or their cars,” said Martins. The government is wary of the stray dog population because it may present a threat to residents’ welfare, but cats – being less confrontational – are more likely to avoid human contact, he continued.

However, without government intervention in the problem of stray and abandoned cats, Martins said that the responsibility falls to the animal welfare group.

He told the Times that between January and October 2016, some 229 cats were rescued from the street, compared with 164 cats in the comparative period last year. The increase represents growth of nearly 40 percent year-on-year.

In the January-October period of 2016, the number of dogs that were rescued fell to 166, compared with 169 in the previous year. Martins said that the leading reason for the drop is due to the previous limitations of space and the fact that dogs are typically much larger animals than cats.

He added that the group’s ability to take stray animals into care and properly house  them is entirely dependent on the number and size of the facilities available to Anima.

The opening ceremony, to which members of the public are invited, will start at 4 p.m. tomorrow.

Anima: Canidrome closure is inevitable

In response to queries about updates on the impending closure of the Canidrome facility, Albano Martins responded that progress had stalled but the center will inevitably close. He added that lawmakers, such as Angela Leong, are already discussing what the space will be used for in the future, which indicates little doubt over its eventual closure.

“It will be closed,” he told the Times. “The only question left is can we [Anima] save those animals? We just need one year and we can send those animals to new homes [abroad]. We just need one year and I guarantee that we can do it.”