In Jasseron (Ain), inauguration of the department's first Chatipi on February 22 to help stray cats!
One Voice, which has been fighting against feline straying for years, is setting up three-way partnerships with municipalities or places such as hospitals or retirement homes, and local associations, to identify, sterilize and release homeless cats by providing them with a wooden chalet to hydrate, feed and comfort themselves. The town council of Jasseron in the Ain contacted One Voice for this purpose, with the help of local association Le Clan Fél’Ain. In addition to protecting cats without human families from misery, the Chatipi project raises public awareness of the problem of feline straying. In Jasseron, the educational aspect of the program is reinforced by the participation of elementary school children, who will have the task to feed the cats when they go to the canteen at lunchtime, and help to sort the canteen’s food waste thanks to the compost bin located near the Chatipi. The inauguration of the Chatipi will take place at Place Bernard Chanel in Jasseron, on Saturday February 22 at 11:00 am.
The inauguration will take place on Saturday, February 22 at 11:00 a.m., in front of the chatipi at Place Bernard Chanel, near the elementary school. It will be attended by Mayor Sébastien Gobert, his local councillor Adrien Bour, who is in charge of monitoring the project, the association Le Clan Fél’Ain, represented by its president Mr. Antonin Gilbaud, and Mrs. Mathilde Perrot for the One Voice association.
Chatipi, a sustainable solution to the vicious circle of cat straying
Chatipi is an ethically-driven initiative aimed at creating shelters for stray cats, to help them and raise public awareness of their distress and needs. Nearly sixty have already been set up across France, sometimes within nursing homes, health facilities or hospitals to bring comfort to residents too, and close to schools for educational purposes, a fundamental element in putting an end to mistreatment and common preconceptions. All too often, our feline friends are wrongly portrayed as independent animals capable of surviving on their own. This is not at all the case: life outdoors is a misery for stray cats, who fall ill far more often than those living with their families, and have to cope with the cold, bad weather, and sometimes even human malice.
Sharing out of tasks and responsibilities
One Voice, which invented the Chatipi concept, usually provides the chalet for the cats. In this case, the town council decided to renovate an abandoned building. One Voice has supplied cat flaps and educational panels, and will pay the veterinary costs (sterilizations, identifications, tests) for fifteen cats at the start of the operation.
The premises have been fitted out by the town hall, which will be responsible for cleaning the place and feeding the feline residents, with the help of elementary school children, supervised by an adult, who will take part in the feeding process at the same time as depositing canteen food waste in the compost bin located near the Chatipi. During the vacations, this task will be entrusted to the technical department staff.
The Clan Fél’Ain association, for its part, will be responsible for monitoring the health of the animals, organizing trapping and transport to the veterinary clinic, and covering long-term veterinary costs (with a maximum annual subsidy of 200 euros from the town council). The most sociable cats will be offered for adoption.
The One Voice website dedicated to the Chatipi program was inaugurated at the beginning of March 2022 and provides a wealth of information about this educational program for cats. Sign our petition calling for an emergency plan on feline straying.