Official opening of the Chatipi for stray cats at the La Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital
One Voice, who has fought against feline straying for years, is implementing three-way partnerships with town councils or drop-in centres and local associations to microchip and neuter homeless cats and release them, while providing them with a wooden chalet for them to rehydrate themselves, eat, and take comfort. This is therefore what is happening at the La Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, where the local association, Nine Lives, and the Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (APHP: the University Hospital Trust in Paris) have signed a convention with One Voice for them to take charge of the problem of stray cats in the Parisian hospital. The Chatipi programme allows cats without a human family to stop suffering from deprivation and teaches about cats as well as about feline straying. The official opening of the Chatipi will take place in La Pitié-Salpêtrière on Saturday 14 September at 6pm.
The inauguration will take place in front of the chatipi on Wednesday, September 14 at 6 p.m. at the hospital’s dental emergency room (behind the stomatology modules), in the presence of Christine Welty, Director General of the APHP, and Stella Grosjean, Co-President of the Nine Lives Association. Finally, Mathilde Perrot, head of One Voice’s chatipi program, will represent the association.
Chatipi, a sustainable solution to the vicious cycle of stray cats
Chatipi is an ethical initiative that aims to create spaces for stray cats in order to rescue them while raising public awareness of their distress and needs. Around twenty are currently being developed. Several chatipis have been set up near nursing homes, health centers, and other hospitals to also bring comfort to residents, and near schools because One Voice’s fundamental goal is to educate people about cats.
All too often, these small felines are mistakenly described as independent animals, when in fact they are very affectionate, loyal, and dependent, which makes them vulnerable when abandoned.
However, stray cats are not solely the result of abandonment. This vicious cycle stems from misconceptions about cats, particularly the belief that they have an intrinsic need to reproduce in order to be happy, which leads their human families to not always have them spayed or neutered. As a result, many cats are born in the wild. These kittens, when they survive, are in any case affected by hunger, cold, and disease. They are neither identified nor spayed or neutered, as their humans are sometimes not even aware that these kittens exist. However, under these circumstances, litters only multiply. Municipalities and communities must manage these individuals facing misery, which also affects biodiversity.
Division of tasks and responsibilities at La Pitié-Salpêtrière
One Voice, which invented the Chatipi concept, provides the shelter and covers the veterinary and food costs for around fifteen cats at the start of the operation (sterilization, identification, tests) as well as the educational sign. The APHP built the concrete slab and assembled the chalet provided by One Voice, which was then fitted out by Nine Lives. The local association will manage the trapping of cats for sterilization and their daily health monitoring.
The website dedicated to the Chatipi program was launched at the beginning of March 2022 and provides a wealth of information about this educational program on cats.