Produced in collaboration with SBS News in Mandarin and Australia Explained, the portal offering crucial information to migrants.
TRANSCRIPT
Yuki Arai is a 34-year-old entrepreneur from Japan who is mad about cats. So much so – the 34-year-old has spent $50,000 of her own money to set up and run a rescue cat café, to help find new homes for abandoned felines.
“There are so many stray cats on the streets. We have about eight to 10 cats all the time and they are all from rescue groups. They're originally from street or abandoned. Most of the cats that we find or we have here are not microchipped, not vaccinated or not desexed unfortunately.”
As a child growing up in Tokyo, Ms Arai aspired to train as a veterinary nurse. Migrating to Australia 10 years ago she pursued a career in hospitality. But the impetus to follow her dream to care for animals followed a family tragedy.
“It was 6 years ago when my sister passed away for cervical cancer. That made me think that life is not long enough, I should move on. That was my turning point and I decided to follow my passion.”
Ms Arai opened Jiji’s Rescue Cat Café in Sydney’s north six months ago, inspired by similar businesses in her homeland, Japan.
“People in Japan, they love cats and also there are so many stray cats in Japan, more than in Sydney probably. Therefore there are so many cat cafes and also rescue cat cafes are very common in Japan as well.”
Café volunteer and independent rescuer Mags Hamilton is a migrant from Britain, who has three rescue cats of her own and 43 others with foster carers. She says the number of abandoned cats is rising and Australia’s rental crisis is partly to blame.
“No pets allowed. That's a big thing. I've had people crying as they hand me their cat because they've had to move into a rental where the cats aren't allowed.”
However, Ms Hamilton says not all unwanted pets find their way to shelters or rescue groups.
“People dump the kittens or cats in shopping centre car parks or in the bush, headlands. I mean, it's un unbelievable that people think that that's a responsible thing to do. it is so cruel. Cats that have been dumped they're riddled with fleas, they're starving, you know, you can feel their spine sticking out from their bodies.”
It’s a concern shared by Safer Pet Foundation director Bernard Bradshaw.
“People think that they dump a cat that a cat can survive in the wild, a cat can't … a cat will be lucky to survive six, six to eight months in the wild. And it's a terrible death. It's a shocking death.”
Australia has one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world, with one third of Australia’s nine-point-two million households owning a cat. That’s more than 5.3 million pet cats nationwide.
Yet the RSPCA euthanised six-and-a-half thousand cats in 2022. Kieran Watson, from RSPCA NSW says rehoming is a good solution.
“When you adopt an animal, , it's really beautiful because you're giving them a second chance. It's behaviorally assessed, it's medically assessed. So you're getting great value for money as well. We always make sure that people understand that the animal is not just for right now, animals can live 10, even 20 years. So it's a really long term commitment.”
Cats were first introduced to Australia with the First Fleet in 1788. Conservationists blame feral cats for the extinction of more than 20 species of native mammals, and say cats are still causing population declines today.
Ms Arai says responsible pet ownership the best way to reduce the impact of cats on the environment. That includes desexing, microchipping and vaccination as well as restricting their movement.
“We strongly recommend to keep your cats indoor, to protect from any kind of dangers, especially from the cars virus and to keep the wild animals nice and safe.”
At her small shopfront café, Ms Arai encourages customers of all ages to play with rescue cats in dedicated playrooms. She says close contact helps many abandoned moggies to find forever homes:
“That's the happiest thing for me to see. I got 32 cats being adopted from here and two cats are during the trial period at the moment.”
Three-year-old Pia and her mother Mary Parsch and among Jiji cafe regulars.
“We come here we have a coffee and we play with the cats. I’ve always had rescue cats as well, and I think it’s a great thing that Yuki is doing here finding homes for these cats.”
It may be rewarding but Ms Arai says a rescue cat café isn’t cheap to run.
“Rent is the first thing. It costs 3.5 K for me every month as well as the food vet bills and all the electricity. I'm not from wealthy family, so it's all paid by myself. We are always seeking for the volunteers, especially who are studying to become a vet or a vet nurse. They need a working experience.”
Three rescued felines were adopted by new families this week. Ms Arai says despite the challenges, that’s why she plans to keep going:
“My lifestyle is full of this cafe right now. Seven days, I'm here spending lots of time with our cats, but that's what I was expected, and this is what I'm doing and I love it.”
