On 26 March at 2 p.m., inauguration of a Chatipi to help stray cats in Saint-Geniès-de-Comolas
One Voice, who has been fighting against cat strayings for years, is setting up triangular partnerships with municipalities or local communities and associations in view of identifying, neutering and caring for homeless cats, and releasing them while providing them with wooden shelters where they can drink, eat and take refuge. The town hall of Saint-Geniès-de-Comolas, in the Gard region, and the Chats des Rues association have long been committed to this cause. To further their commitment, they contacted One Voice to provide a sustainable shelter for cats without families and to raise public awareness of their plight. The inauguration will take place at the Chatipi space on Wednesday 26 March at 2pm.
The inauguration will take place in front of the Chatipi space located on Chemin de Montfaucon in Saint-Geniès-de-Comolas, at plot B 282. Mayor Olivier Jouve and part of his municipal council will be present. Representing the Chats des Rues association, President Marie-Louise Humblot will be accompanied by most of the board and volunteers. Finally, Mathilde Perrot and Aurore Defix will represent One Voice. Mehdi Mekerle, director of the Saint-Geniès-de-Comolas Leisure Centre, has also been invited and will be accompanied by several children from the centre.
Educational workshops to raise children’s awareness of the plight of stray cats
Chatipi is an ethical initiative aimed at creating spaces for stray cats in view of rescuing them while raising public awareness of their distress and needs. Around sixty such spaces are currently being developed throughout France.
Around twenty children, aged 6 to 10, who are enrolled in the town’s Leisure Centre, will attend the inauguration. Through educational workshops organised by One Voice they will learn about the needs of stray cats and the challenges they face on the streets. The aim is to explain why cats become strays and to remind people that, contrary to popular belief, our feline companions struggle to survive on their own in the wild, where they face hunger, cold, disease and human cruelty, and that action must be taken to help them.
Division of tasks and responsibilities
One Voice, who invented the Chatipi concept, provides the chalet and the cat flaps, covers the cost of 30 kilos of dry food and veterinary expenses (sterilisation, identification, tests) for 15 cats at the start of the operation, as well as the educational board.
For its part, the local council has provided the land and covered the cost of laying the concrete slab, assembling the chalet and installing an adjoining wire enclosure.
The association Chats des Rues which is highly involved in helping cats, with more than 500 sterilizations carried out since 2012, will be responsible for the long-term running of the Chatipi: fitting out the chalet, caring for and feeding the residents, monitoring their health, etc. In total, around fifteen unadoptable cats are expected to benefit from the Chatipi in Saint-Geniès-de-Comolas.