Official opening of the Chatipi for stray cats in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, 14 June 2022 at 4pm
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 Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse commune in the Aude department contacted the One Voice Association to take charge of the issue of stray cats in the town. Amicale Féline de Lagrasse [the Lagrasse Feline Association], an animal protection association, is also participating in the project. The Chatipi programme therefore means that cats without a human family no longer suffer from deprivation. The official opening of the Chatipi will take place in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse on 14 June 2022 at 4pm.
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 Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse commune in the Aude department contacted the One Voice Association to take charge of the issue of stray cats in the town. Amicale Féline de Lagrasse [the Lagrasse Feline Association], an animal protection association, is also participating in the project. The Chatipi programme therefore means that cats without a human family no longer suffer from deprivation. The official opening of the Chatipi will take place in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse on 14 June 2022 at 4pm.
The official opening will take place in front of the chalet on Tuesday 14 June 2022 at Place du Boulodrome in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse (11220) in the presence of the Mayor, Xavier de Volontat, Christine Dayer, the elected representative of the Committee for Social Affairs and Town and Country Planning who is also part of the Amicale Féline de Lagrasse Association, chaired by Patricia Bonutto, who will be accompanied by volunteers from the local association which is a member of the project. And finally, we have Justine Audemard, Campaign Manager, who will represent One Voice.
This is the second Chatipi to be opened in Aude, after Davejean, and the project has been carried out with the greatest efficiency thanks to the responsiveness of our partners. The agreement was signed in January and, six months later, the chalet is open! Other projects are underway in the department: in Ribaute with the same local association and in Lairière.
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 concept of a Chatipi, provides the chalet, the protective enclosure, and educational information boards. The layout of it is designed for a colony of twenty cats that were already supported by the town hall and local association; One Voice will take responsibility for neutering and microchipping of three cats. The town hall has financed the neutering and microchipping of stray cats for several years and also provides equipment to trap them to volunteers. This is proof of their significant investment in the fight against feline straying, which One Voice is very happy to join in with.
Translated from the French by Joely Justice