‘Midnight Cafeteria’ feeds cats

Stray felines in Taipei enjoy dinner and their own place to rest

“In Taiwan there are a lot of people who feed strays, but often they leave a mess and then the public becomes annoyed by it and they become annoyed with strays as well.”

— Chen Chen-yi, Taiwan Animal Equality Association

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Pipi already dines well.

The plump, black-and-white street cat lives near a night market in a neighborhood of Taiwan’s capital where volunteers have fed and taken care of strays for years. But Pipi and his fellow street cats got an upgrade of their dining situation recently with the “Midnight Cafeteria” project.

Launched in September, the “cafeteria” is actually 45 small wooden houses painted by Taiwanese artists and scattered across Taipei. The idea is to give the cats a place to rest while making feeding them less messy.

It began in math teacher Hung Pei-ling’s neighborhood, where about 20 neighbors are helping stray cats in addition to their full-time jobs.

“We want to push forward this philosophy that you don’t have to be part of a very top-level association or something that takes up all of your time,” she said. “You can just be one person doing something a little bit at a time, a little bit, and taken all together, you can achieve a lot.”

Hung began volunteering after a good friend rescued and raised a stray cat. For five years, she has worked with other cat lovers in the neighborhood who buy the cats food, help clean the houses and coordinate with residents who may have complaints.

Hung also helps capture injured cats and cats that need spaying, takes them to get veterinary attention and then returns them to their haunts.

The wooden houses in Hung’s neighborhood were hand-painted by a local artist Stefano Misesti and feature smiling felines as well as street food that is loved in Taiwan such as stinky tofu. In addition to food bowls, one houses basic medicine for the cats. Neighbors have brought small cushions as well as decorated cardboard boxes to add to the houses.

Started by Chen Chen-yi, a researcher at the Taiwan Animal Equality Association, the cat houses help ensure stray cats get fed well and local residents do not have to deal with a mess. They also raise awareness about the spaying program and the condition of stray cats.

“In Taiwan there are a lot of people who feed strays, but often they leave a mess, and then the public becomes annoyed by it and they become annoyed with strays as well,” he said.

The cat houses were a multiteam effort. Chen applied for a grant from the Taipei city government to fund the project, and then connected with a local ward leader as well as volunteers to carry it out.

On a recent Sunday, Pipi and two of his friends were enjoying attention from Hung and another volunteer who came to feed them. After eating at the cafeteria, they settled in for a lazy morning nap.

“One Good Thing Extra,” a series highlighting individuals whose actions provide glimmers of joy in hard times — stories of people who find a way to make a difference, no matter how small, will change to a twice weekly format beginning this week. Publication days will be Wednesday and Sunday.

(AP/Chiang Ying-ying) Street cat Laoda waits for food prepared by volunteer Yuju Huangat a Midnight Cafeteria in Taipei, Taiwan.

(AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) Street cat Flower (foreground) basks as volunteer Yuju Huang feeds Pipi at a Midnight Cafeteria.

(AP/Huizhong Wu) Taiwanese math teacher Hung Pei-ling prepares to feed a stray cat in Taipei.

(AP/Chiang Ying-ying) Street cats Pipi (left) and Laoda — meaning boss — sit on the roof of a Midnight Cafeteria in Taipei, Taiwan. Launched in September, the “cafeteria” is actually 45 small wooden houses painted by Taiwanese artists and scattered across Taipei to give the cats a place to rest and make feeding them less messy.