The Macau Jockey Club (MJC) and ANIMA Macau jointly held a cat adoption campaign on Sunday at the MJC site in Taipa, resulting in the adoption of 22 “mousers” at the former racetrack – and ANIMA said in a statement yesterday that 15 “working cats” were still at the site to be caught, hoping to complete the process by next Tuesday.
ANIMA issued a statement yesterday summarising Sunday’s adoption drive, expressing the animal protection group’s sincere gratitude to everyone who attended and supported the event, and thanking the nine volunteers who helped make it a success.
According to the statement, at the start of the adoption campaign, a total of 83 felines had been captured at the Macau Jockey Club site. On Sunday, 22 were successfully adopted, leaving 61 cats and kittens behind.
The statement added that three of the 61 cats were found to have feline distemper* and would be taken to a veterinary clinic by the Macau Jockey Club for treatment, which would cover the related medical expenses, underlining that the three unwell cats would be taken care of by ANIMA after recovering from the disease.
In the statement, ANIMA expressed its relief that the cats would not need to be sent to Zhuhai, noting that the other 58 “working” cats caught at the MJC will be examined for feline distemper this week, and then gradually taken to several local animal protection organisations for homing, comprising the Cats and Dogs Guardian Angel Association (Macao) with seven cats, a shelter called 波天地 in Chinese with three cats, the Abandoned Animals Protection Association of Macau (AAPAM) with seven cats, Catfee with 15 cats, and ANIMA with 20 cats.
ANIMA also thanked Mary Jean Reimer, a Hong Kong solicitor, who had earlier offered to provide space for cats.
According to earlier media reports, over 100 “working cats”, i.e., mousers, lived at the former racetrack which was shut down on April 1 last year. The site is slated to be revert to the government on the first of next month. The cats’ “job” was it to catch rodents in the club’s stables, former staff members have told local media.
*Feline distemper, also known as feline panleukopenia, is a highly contagious and potentially life-threatening viral disease that affects cats. It is caused by the feline parvovirus (FPV). The virus attacks rapidly dividing cells, particularly in the bone marrow, intestines, and lymphoid tissues, leading to a range of severe symptoms. – DeepSeek
One of the 22 cats awaiting adoption sits in a cage during Sunday’s campaign co-hosted by the Macau Jockey Club (MJC) and ANIMA Macau at the MJC site in Taipa. – Photo: Yuki Lei
