Animal NGO inundated with offers of support as it seeks permission to rehome over 300 cats discovered in flat
Kirsten Mitchell, of NGO Kirsten's Zoo, told HKFP that two tenants moved into the property with a pair of British shorthair cats 18 months ago. But there are now 300-350 felines at the apartment, and her NGO is seeking to remove them as they have 'no idea' if the tenants will continue to care for them.
A post by the NGO on Facebook said they did not know whether the cats had ever been to the vet, but the landlord originally gave the tenants until this Wednesday to leave.
It is unclear where the property is, though photos appeared to show the premises were clean and well kept.
'Cats come into season every six weeks – not hard to end up with this many,' Mitchell told HKFP. 'I have to try and get permission from the owners of the cats to remove them.'
She said that the cats' owners are currently asking a court to allow them more time to move on, with a decision due on Wednesday: '[W]e have to wait for the magistrate to decide on what's next! I'm still inundated with offers of help and I can't do anything until the ruling,' Mitchell said. '[The] owner has asked for more time to move the cats. Everything on hold… almost 500 WhatsApp and 190 emails as yet unanswered.'
The police and Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) were aware of the case, she said, as the NGO consults legal experts.
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HKFP
a day ago
- HKFP
Animal NGO inundated with offers of support as it seeks permission to rehome over 300 cats discovered in flat
A local animal NGO has said it has received hundreds of offers of support as it seeks permission to rehome over 300 cats discovered by the landlord of a flat. Kirsten Mitchell, of NGO Kirsten's Zoo, told HKFP that two tenants moved into the property with a pair of British shorthair cats 18 months ago. But there are now 300-350 felines at the apartment, and her NGO is seeking to remove them as they have 'no idea' if the tenants will continue to care for them. A post by the NGO on Facebook said they did not know whether the cats had ever been to the vet, but the landlord originally gave the tenants until this Wednesday to leave. It is unclear where the property is, though photos appeared to show the premises were clean and well kept. 'Cats come into season every six weeks – not hard to end up with this many,' Mitchell told HKFP. 'I have to try and get permission from the owners of the cats to remove them.' She said that the cats' owners are currently asking a court to allow them more time to move on, with a decision due on Wednesday: '[W]e have to wait for the magistrate to decide on what's next! I'm still inundated with offers of help and I can't do anything until the ruling,' Mitchell said. '[The] owner has asked for more time to move the cats. Everything on hold… almost 500 WhatsApp and 190 emails as yet unanswered.' The police and Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) were aware of the case, she said, as the NGO consults legal experts.
HKFP
03-08-2025
- HKFP
Fruit and vegetables now defy the seasons – with one exception: the lychee
When I was a kid, my mother was still in the habit of shopping daily. We had a fridge, but it hadn't really changed our eating habits yet. Most shops featured a counter, behind which the 'assistant' would stand and fetch what you wanted. Fruit and vegetables were different. In the UK, these came from a specialised shop called the greengrocer's, which was set up rather more like a Hong Kong wet market. The fruit and veg were out on shelves or in baskets so you could inspect and fondle the goods. There was a big open space in the middle of the shop where the greengrocer performed, juggling fruit, chaffering with the customers (most of whom he knew by name) and weighing purchases on a large weighing machine. There was, I noticed, a lot of variation in what was available. We were at the mercy of the climate. You ate salad in the summer because that was when lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes were 'in season.' You had Brussels sprouts with your Christmas turkey because sprouts were the only green vegetable immune to frost. Strawberries were a treat at Wimbledon because they had been unobtainable for nine months before. Well, we have changed all that. Wandering my local supermarket, I find that most of the fruits and vegetables are reassuringly consistent. They may come from different places at different times of the year, but they are always there. This is partly because food now frequently flies. So what is out of season in the northern hemisphere will be just coming into fruition in the southern one. Also, a lot of food production is now conducted in entirely artificial environments. Confused plants can be persuaded that it is fruit time regardless of the calendar. This is all well and good, and no doubt makes it easier to follow a healthy diet. But there is one exception. We have just passed, you may not have noticed, the end of the lychee season. I was a fan of the lychee long before coming to Hong Kong. This is because Chinese restaurants in the UK, at least outside the big cities, sold a rather specialised foreigner-friendly version of Chinese food, and this did not include desserts. If you really wanted a dessert, there were only two possibilities: ice cream or tinned lychees. This was thoroughly misleading. When I came to Hong Kong, I found whole restaurants devoted to Chinese sweet dishes, offering an intriguing range of soups, dumplings, fruits and variations on rice. There were no tinned lychees or, for that matter, ice cream. In due course, I was introduced to the real fresh lychee. In those days, the Xinhua news agency office in Hong Kong was routinely described as China's de facto embassy in the British colony, but they did perform some press relations stuff. And so I was invited on a day trip to see the lychee harvest in Shenzhen, which in those days still had trees and farms. I am not sure how the industrial-scale picking is done, but we were all issued with bags and urged to help ourselves. The lychee tree is a conveniently low tree. But it seems somehow to have eluded the trend towards fruit and vegetable globalisation. You can get lychees when they are in season in Guangdong. Outside that time, you can't. This is surprising. When kiwis were a New Zealand speciality, they were seasonal. But the fruit, also known as the Chinese gooseberry, was long ago transplanted and copied. So now they come from a variety of places, and you can get them all year round. Why has this not happened to the lychee? Let me offer a free suggestion to any New Zealand farmer who thinks the kiwi business is getting a bit crowded these days. Buy, borrow or steal a lychee tree. In the summer – that is your summer, not ours – you will have the world to yourself.
HKFP
11-07-2025
- HKFP
Existing monthly donor? How to activate your HKFP account and 8 benefits
Thank you for backing HKFP – if you are an existing monthly donor, you may now activate your new account on our main website to enjoy Google ad-free browsing and better manage your newsletter subscriptions. Direct credit/debit card donors (via Stripe) – click for guide. Using your HKFP donor email address, you'll need to activate your account to manage your donation, newsletters and enjoy all benefits. Logging in: At the top-right of any HKFP page, click 'Sign in.' Enter the donor email address you previously used with HKFP. Check your email inbox for a 6-digit code to verify your identity. Type or paste that code into the form and click 'sign in.' You will see your existing monthly donation under 'My Subscription.' Any trouble? Please contact us: Patreon, bank transfer and Google Reader Revenue donor – click for guide. If we have your email address on record, we may have set up your account already. Using your HKFP donor email address, you may activate your account to manage your newsletters and enjoy all benefits. If you are unable to log in, please contact us and we will set you up! Logging in: At the top-right of any HKFP page, click 'Sign in.' Check your email inbox for a 6-digit code to verify your identity. Type or paste that code into the form and click 'sign in.' You will see your existing monthly donation under 'My Subscription.' Prefer to set a password? Visit 'My Account' at the top-right after logging in. Existing HK$150+/month donor? You will also be eligible for our eight new benefits. All monthly donors should have received a welcome email on Friday, July 11, 2025, following our transition to a new system. If you did not, or if our records are inaccurate, please check your spambox or contact donor support: 8 new benefits for HK$150+/month members HKFP Patrons are being rebranded as HKFP Members. For monthly donors of HK$150 or more, we are offering eight new benefits as we celebrate a decade of publishing: 1. Exclusive HKFP deer keyring or tote. Our mascot derives from the Chinese expression 'to point at a deer and call it a horse' – which refers to being deceptive for ill gain. HKFP will always call a deer a deer, and now you can own an exclusive HKFP deer keyring – designed from scratch by HKFP. Alternatively, opt for heavy duty HKFP tote bag. (Apologies, no US shipping). 2. Exclusive columns by Tim Hamlett. HKFP's Tim Hamlett is penning extra columns exclusively for HKFP members. Sign up to receive sharp analysis on local affairs via email. 3. Previews of HKFP original reporting. Receive regular previews of our exclusive features, interviews and explainers via email, a day before they arrive on our website. 4. Merch drops and discounts. Exclusive access to merch store drops, and up to 15% off. 5. 'Behind the scenes' newsroom insights. How do we gather the news? 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