Stray Cats in Tai O

Dried seafood, stilt houses, dolphin boat tour, these probably are the attractions that you would expect to see in Tai O. If you are a cat person, there might be an extra reason for you to visit this faraway fishing village. You can easily encounter cats at the corners of alleys, in front of shops and on piles of debris. Feline and human maintain a close relationship, and the bond between two species resulted in an ample presence of cats.

According to Tai O Stray Cat Home, the only animal welfare organisation in Tai O, villagers in the past used to have cats to keep mice from damaging their valuable dried seafood. The number of cats naturally escalated as villagers tend to believe that neutered cats will lose their predatory instinct against mice.

Now volunteers of the stray cat home regularly neuter stray cats and provide food and medical aid to them, making sure Tai O will be a beautiful haven for both human and cats.

Stray cat relaxing on the curb side of the street, a usual scene in Tai O. (Source: Llewellyn Cheung)

A cat sitting stiff as a statue, looking at passers-by. (Source: Llewellyn Cheung)

“It will go from door to door, bring it home if you like!” A passing by villager said. (Source: Llewellyn Cheung)

An abandoned stilt house somewhat became a permanent shelter of a stray cat. (Source: Llewellyn Cheung)

A stray cat casually chilling on a pile of debris. (Source: Llewellyn Cheung)

Every year Tai O villagers hang paper lanterns to welcome their families coming home during the Mid-Autumn Festival. (Source: Llewellyn Cheung)

At a cat-themed cafe, a stray cat looking at its giant-sized fellow creature. (Source: Llewellyn Cheung)

Not all cats are nice. This cat immediately dashed towards the lens the moment it sensed a camera pointing at it. (Source: Llewellyn Cheung)