A 35-year-old volunteer and his 1,900 days of rescuing stray cats

Abandoned silver-coloured "crooked necks", civet cats that were thrown away due to cat plague, stray cats whose lower bodies were run over by cars... Gong Haihan himself did not expect that he would encounter various difficult situations during the more than five years of rescuing stray cats. Haihan, a 35-year-old from Weifang Youth Palace, suffers from a disease and often works as a volunteer in the community on weekdays. Now, he has become a "super daddy" to hundreds of stray cats. He has been scratched by cats many times while rescuing stray cats; in order to raise cat food, he has called on communities and platforms for many days in a row... In the process of rescuing stray cats, he has experienced doubts and online violence, but he has never given up on finding adopters for stray cats and using scientific methods to control the number of stray cats.

Starting point, life and determination to save

Gong Haihan, a 35-year-old Weifang volunteer youth, has been ill for many years. During the days when he was feeling unwell, he was accompanied by an adopted dog and a kitten that was accidentally rescued in winter.

"About five years ago in the winter, I rescued a stray cat that fell into a water tank. The process of rescuing it made me feel healed, and slowly I began to try to rescue more stray cats." Gong Haihan believes that all things have animism, and even the smallest animals should be protected. "So I try to save abandoned, sick, and injured cats in my own way."

During the rescue process, Gong Haihan's hands were often scratched by stray cats. "But even so, I have no intention of giving up rescuing stray cats. Only by using scientific methods to find adopters and help sterilize stray cats can we prevent more stray cats from appearing in the community." Seeing more and more stray cats around him, Gong Haihan is constantly thinking about new ideas for rescue. He firmly believes that only persistence can produce results, and giving up midway will make early efforts in vain.

Doubts, Opposition and Internet Violence

In the five years of rescuing stray cats, Gong Haihan heard the most doubts. "When I feed cats in the community, some people will roll their eyes. Once when I was carrying cat food, I was asked, 'Why do we feed the animals?'" In order to make neighbors realize that rescuing stray cats will not cause trouble to the community, Gong Haihan will take the initiative to clean up stray cat feces in the community.

In order to change the views of some neighbors, Gong Haihan worked as a community volunteer in the community for a whole year in 2022. "I hope everyone can understand that I don't just rescue cats. I will help the neighbors in the community as soon as possible." "After rescuing stray cats, my social platform suffered a lot of online violence." Faced with these insults, Gong Haihan, who is not good at arguing with others, would silently delete them.

"Last winter, I launched a charity fundraiser for cat food online because stray cats needed to stock up on food for the winter. At this time, many people questioned me again, and they questioned that I used this fundraiser to make profits." Gong Haihan said that in order to reduce doubts as much as possible, he does not collect money from strangers.

On Gong Haihan’s multiple social platforms, you can see videos and screenshots of cat food donations shared by him. "I published these contents in the most transparent way to minimize misunderstandings. In the past five years, I have suffered too many doubts and online violence. Now I have built a wall in my heart. People who are willing to believe in me will believe me no matter what."

Reception, adoption and scientific rescue

More than five years ago, Gong Haihan rescued a stray cat by chance, and he has not stopped rescuing it since. "I have been rescuing stray cats for more than 1,900 consecutive days. The total number of stray cats I have rescued is 200, and about 40 stray cats have died due to illness or accidents. There are still many cats in the observation stage. Once they are confirmed to be free of feline plague and other diseases, they will be sent to the people waiting for adoption."

In Gong Haihan's view, rescuing stray cats is not just as simple as feeding and treating illnesses. "If you can't find an adopter, stray cats may be infected if they are kept in groups. The most scientific way is to find adopters for them, who will take them for vaccination and sterilization, which will fundamentally reduce the number of stray cats."

Mentioning stray cats, many netizens called for "sterilization" of stray cats to control the population in this way. In response to this behavior, Gong Haihan admitted that his financial capacity is limited and he cannot provide sterilization operations for all stray cats. "I have sterilized more than ten stray cats before, but I really can't afford it financially. I have also considered launching a fundraiser, but the act of collecting money will face doubts from netizens, so I still try my best to find adopters."

Gong Haihan said that this "rescue road" for stray cats was not easy for him, and could even be described as difficult. "But I will continue to persevere, resist the doubts, and work with more caring rescuers to use scientific methods to control the number of stray cats, calling for adoption instead of buying, and finding homes for more furry babies."