Official opening of the Chatipi for stray cats in Gagny on Friday 21 April 2023 at 11am

One Voice, who has fought against feline straying for years, is implementing three-way partnerships with towns or drop-in centres and local associations to microchip and neuter homeless cats and release them, while finding them a wooden chalet for them to rehydrate themselves, eat, and take comfort. The town council of Gagny, a town situated in Seine-Saint-Denis, contacted the One Voice Association to take responsibility for the issue of stray cats in the town with the help of the local Gagny Pet and Co. Association. The Chatipi programme therefore means that cats without a human family will no longer suffer from deprivation. The official opening of the Chatipi will take place in Gagny on Friday 21 April at 11am.

The official opening will take place on Friday 21 April at 11am in front of the Chatipi set up on Allée Georges Guyonnet in Gagny, near the station. It will happen in the presence of the Mayor of Gagny and the local council, the town service managers, town departments (Town Planning Policies, Celebrations and Ceremonies, Technical Services, and Animal Rights), the Gagny Pet and Co Association (signatory of the Chatipi convention), the Studies and Construction Association, and the Jacques Prévert Socio-Cultural Centre in Gagny. Finally is Lola Rebollo who is in charge of the feline straying campaign for One Voice and who will represent the association.

Chatipi: a lasting solution for the vicious circle of feline straying

Chatipi is a plan with the ethical aim of creating areas for stray cats in order to keep them safe while raising awareness among citizens of their suffering and needs. Around twenty are currently being developed. Several Chatipis have been established near residential care homes for the elderly, nursing homes, or hospitals to bring comfort to the residents, and close to schools as One Voice’s goal is fundamentally to teach about cats. In fact, we too often mistakenly describe these small felines as independent animals, when they are very affectionate, loyal, and dependent, which makes them vulnerable in the event of being abandoned.

That being said, feline straying is not only caused by abandonment. This vicious circle that involves eleven million cats per year in France at first glance begins with erroneous assumptions about them, particularly that they have an intrinsic need to reproduce in order to be happy, which leads to their human families not always getting them neutered. Many cat births take place in the wild. In any case, these kittens, when they survive, are hit by hunger, cold, and illness. They are neither microchipped nor neutered, because their humans are sometimes not even aware that these kittens exist. And so, litters only continue to multiply in these circumstances. Towns or drop-in centres must manage these individuals faced with this misfortune, which also has an impact on biodiversity.

Sharing out tasks and responsibilities

One Voice, who invented the Chatipi concept, provides the chalet and the cat flaps, 30 kilos of kibble, and the veterinary fees (neutering, microchipping, tests) for 15 cats at the beginning of the operation as well as the educational board.

The town, which has taken responsibility for the creation of the concrete base, has incidentally organised an integration project with the Studies and Construction Association and the Jacques Prévert Socio-Cultural Centre in Gagny to carry out the set-up and assembly of the chalet.

The health monitoring of the cats will be handled by the local Gagny Pet and Co Association, who will take care of catching them to be neutered, feeding them, long-term veterinary fees, and cleaning the chalet. In total, 20 cats should benefit from the Gagny Chatipi.

The One Voice website dedicated to the Chatipi programme was launched at the beginning of March 2022 and gives a lot of information regarding this educational programme on cats. Sign our petition calling for an urgent plan for feline straying.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice