Stray cats: unveiling a website dedicated to the Chatipi programme and a press briefing at the Chatipi in Vannes on 3 March at 2pm

_Photo credit: Vannes Town Council_

Le Cercle des Chats Libres du Pays de Vannes [Society for Stray Cats in Vannes] in the Morbihan department contacted the One Voice association to take charge of the issue of stray cats in the town. The Association de Défense des Animaux [Association for Animal Welfare], who has fought against feline straying for years, implements partnerships with municipalities and local associations to microchip and neuter homeless cats and release them, while finding them shelter and holding informational panels. The Chatipi programme therefore means that cats without a human family no longer suffer from deprivation. In Vannes, a press briefing will take place at the Chatipi on Thursday 3 March at 2pm, organised by the municipality. One Voice will open their website dedicated to the Chatipi programme to the public on the same day.

A press briefing will take place in front of the cat chalet on Thursday 3 March at 2pm at 8 rue de la Salle d’Asile in Vannes.

Mr Thépaut, the deputy mayor in charge of climate, biodiversity, and finance, and town councillor Mrs Manchec who is appointed to environment and nutrition, will be present, as well as the two local associations involved in the project, represented by the President of the Cercle des Chats Libres du Pays de Vannes, Mrs Marie-Christine Vidal (whose association had not yet been created when the project began), and the President of SPA [Society for the Protection of Animals] in Vannes, Mrs Marie-France Le Gallou, a signatory of the convention. Mr Sylvain Gillet, a veterinarian at the Vannes pound who is responsible for neutering, is also invited. Finally, Mrs Cécile Gillet who is responsible for the Vannes office represents One Voice.

On the same day, One Voice will launch their website dedicated to the Chatipi programme fighting against feline straying, currently being developed in around thirty towns, linked here: www.chatipi.fr

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

Chatipi is a plan with the ethical aim of making the creation of areas for straying cats in towns possible, and of rescuing them while raising awareness among citizens of their suffering and needs. 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. Fundamentally, One Voice’s goal is to educate on cats to move towards a lasting solution to this problem.

In fact, we too often inaccurately describe these little felines as independent and self-sufficient animals, even though they are vulnerable when they have been abandoned (which happens much more frequently and far less visibly than it does for dogs).

That being said, feline straying is not only caused by abandonment. This vicious circle begins with erroneous assumptions about cats, 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. There are around eleven million stray cats in France. 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 the human families concerned are sometimes not even aware that these kittens exist. And so litters only continue to multiply in these circumstances. Municipalities must manage these individuals faced with this misfortune, which also have an impact on biodiversity.

Sharing out tasks and responsibilities in Vannes

There will be fifteen residents in the Chatipi. The cats haven’t yet been moved in as the chalet has only just been assembled. One Voice, who invented the concept of a Chatipi, provided the chalet, information boards, and cat biscuits at the beginning of the operation. They also guaranteed the initial veterinary fees for fifteen cats (neutering, microchipping, testing). The town council provided the concrete flooring, assembly, and construction of the chalet. The Cercle des Chats Libres du Pays de Vannes and the SPA Vannes organised capturing them to get them neutered. They are also the ones who will be responsible for the maintenance of the chalet, feeding, health checks for the cats, and long-term veterinary costs. The cats will be identified under the name of the town council.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice