New Taipei’s Houtong, a small village famous for its cats, has gotten a new landmark: the Cat Public Office. It stands in a renovated railway dormitory, and it boasts comfortable living quarters for cats that are up for adoption. The office’s mission will be to turn tourist footfall into higher adoption rates. At its inauguration ceremony on Monday, a calico cat named Dorayaki was named the office’s first and cutest director.

The door opens to reveal wooden cat kennels, a tree-like scratching post, and plenty of feline toys. This is the new Cat Public Office at Houtong in New Taipei. The building previously housed a dorm for railway workers. Now it’s a comfortable living space for cats that are up for adoption. In 2023, the Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office gave the building a facelift, making it an adoption center and fresh landmark for Houtong.

A calico cat sits vigilant. This is Dorayaki, the former head of the Cat Public Office planning committee. With the office now in business, Dorayaki has been promoted to become its first and cutest director.

Designer
It was a bit decrepit before. So it wasn’t a good environment for the kitties to interact with people. It was very hard to get close up and personal. The new design allows for more interaction between people and the animals. It feels more natural.

U.S. cable network CNN named Houtong one of six places worldwide “where cats outshine tourist attractions.” At a ceremony on Monday, the Cat Public Office introduced its initiatives for improving cat care in the village. The office issues cat “national IDs” and conducts a population census, in hopes of finding a suitable home for each cat.

Lee Wen
Agriculture Bureau
This is an info stand you use to access all sorts of information about the cat village in an easy-to-understand way. There is tourist information, information about cats and public health rules. It’s all available like at a regular district office.

Houtong’s Cat Public Office is not just a new tourist landmark, but an attempt to turn visitor traffic into higher adoption rates. The local government hopes the public will “adopt, not abandon,” give more animals a loving home, and help Houtong continue to be a friendly community for cats.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#台灣新聞 #TaiwanNews #民視新聞 #FTV新聞 #Taiwan