Locals praised, slammed for cat-rescue act

A group of animal lovers which has been rescuing cats from elevated roads and tunnels in Shanghai have been receiving both bouquets and brickbats for their actions.

While some praise them for their compassion, others find their charitable act extremely dangerous.

Maggie Liu, 34, of Shandong Province, set up an animal protection organization in the city last month. Together with about 30 office workers — all between the ages of 20 and 40 — they have rescued 20 cats and a dog so far.

"We've seen people throwing cats from their car windows while driving on highways and in tunnels since last year. It is too cruel. We are all cat lovers," Liu told Shanghai Daily.

"Cats cannot by themselves walk onto high elevated roads. Some of the cats we found were only several days old. How could they walk to the top?" Liu asked.

"We tried to follow some of the cars, but they always got away."

Liu's team head to the elevated roads and tunnels to look for the cats and other animals after midnight.

"There are more cars in day time. We may cause traffic jam and it is also dangerous. So we usually carry out our operation around midnight, when the roads are relatively empty," she said.

Liu and her team play safe. They have bought professional equipment. They put up warning signs near their cars while the rescue team wears reflective waistcoats to alert drivers. Each operation lasts at least 2 to 3 hours.

The night work takes a toll on her day job but she is lucky to have a boss who is supportive and has donated 1,000 yuan to the group. "I appreciate that because we need the money, not only for our operation but also to pay for the treatment of the animals," Liu said.

Liu is not alone in her unusual work. A local woman, surnamed Zhang, has been rescuing cats on highways and tunnels for two years now. She rescued seven cats last month.

"It is not a big number, but I saved five in one week in July," Zhang, 31, told Shanghai Daily.

Fear of traffic accident

Zhang remembered the first time she saved a cat. Someone had posted on Weibo saying a cat was seen on the outer edge of an elevated road. Zhang immediately acted on the post.

"It could have caused a traffic accident if it jumped into the lanes or could have been run over by a car. I can't bear to see such things," she said.

She drove to the road, but was too scared to climb out and reach the cat. She called a friend, who was a rock wall climbing coach, in Wuxi City in Jiangsu Province. In an exemplary act, the friend took a train to Shanghai and rescued the cat at around midnight.

She posted details of the "rescue mission" on her Weibo and immediately became a celebrity of sorts, to the point that any spotting of the felines on the roads are reported back to her.

"I don't know how these cats make it to the elevated roads and tunnels. All I know is that I feel obliged to help them. If I do not rescue them, they might die," she said.

Zhang currently has 30 cats with her, which costs her over 3,000 yuan every month. But it all came at a price — she lost her job last month as she was unable to concentrate "due to lack of sleep." Her husband also divorced her recently.

"I know it seems crazy. But there are so many cats that are run over by vehicles. Those flat bloody bodies make me sick," Zhang said. "As long as I can save them, I will do it."

Alejandra Vasquez, a Chilean who has been in Shanghai for five years, also recounted a similar story and rescued a kitten on a highway at grave risk. Vasquez said a foreign couple had adopted the kitten.

But the question that bothers many is: Is it worth the risk?

"They may cause fatal accident if passing drivers do not see them or stop in time. It is extremely dangerous in evening," said Danny Zhou, an office worker. "Animal lovers should protect cats in a rational way. When saving cats, they should not endanger their own life or that of other people."

But Vasquez counters: "I understand that people consider it dangerous but it is also quite irresponsible when people dump unwanted pets in the middle of an elevated road. The animals most likely will die after being hit by a vehicle."