I didn't even think of adding a little explanation to my T13 about life in Hong Kong with cats, so, I thought I would follow it up with explaining a little more about how it's possible to live and keep three cats in a busy, crowded, cramped city! (while answering some questions I received via comments and emails!).
Starbuck, Torrey and Sebastian live in an apartment. By city standards, especially Hong Kong standards, it's a large apartment as it is nearly 3,500 square feet in size. The boys have their own play room, which is almost as big as my bedroom, and it has everything they need in it including their water dome (the smaller one so they can't dunk their toys in it or splash!).
Their 8 feet cat tree, which they love, especially as it's next to a window!
And numerous toys, which I'm thinking of making into next week's T13.
When no one is at home, they have free run of the playroom, hallway and guest toilet. When we're home, they have full reign of the whole house (except the kitchen!).
As for going outside: nope - there is really no way for them to get out. I did consider leash training them and taking them for walks; however, I live in an area that gets a lot of monkeys and that equates to rabies and so they would have to get rabies shots and the other shots, which may lead to cancer, and so I decided to play it safe and keep them inside.
One time, Sebastian managed to squeeze through the pottery wall I have in my laundry area and he ended up walking around the perimeter of the building on a ledge! I almost died! Thankfully he found his way to one of my two balconies and was safe. Whew!
Cats are a popular pet choice in Hong Kong; however, they are mostly the flat-faced cat varieties such as persians and exotics. We also have british shorthairs, a few maine coons etc. but mostly persians. Hong Kong people love their fat faces. They are also quieter and not so active and so suit the "living in a matchbox" style houses we have. Below is an example of a home in HK that has cat proofed the balcony (btw, it is not my apartment- it is an Alley Cats pic I found. Where I live looks over trees and a couple small parks!).
We also have a large stray population, which lots of research has been done on regarding feril population control. It's interesting. I'll have to get some more info on it. We also have Hong Kong Alley Cats, which is deals with, you guessed it, Alley cats! And a Cat Colony Programme run by the SPCA. It's all really well run.
My cats were all brought from overseas (one rescue and two from breeders) as the Hong Kong pet industry is pet shop oriented and not breeder oriented. I find it really interesting that most of the cats in pet stores have been imported, which makes me wonder about the breeders in Australia and the US who actually allow their animals to be sold in this way. But that's another story!
Starbuck, Torrey and Sebastian live in an apartment. By city standards, especially Hong Kong standards, it's a large apartment as it is nearly 3,500 square feet in size. The boys have their own play room, which is almost as big as my bedroom, and it has everything they need in it including their water dome (the smaller one so they can't dunk their toys in it or splash!).
Their 8 feet cat tree, which they love, especially as it's next to a window!
And numerous toys, which I'm thinking of making into next week's T13.
When no one is at home, they have free run of the playroom, hallway and guest toilet. When we're home, they have full reign of the whole house (except the kitchen!).
As for going outside: nope - there is really no way for them to get out. I did consider leash training them and taking them for walks; however, I live in an area that gets a lot of monkeys and that equates to rabies and so they would have to get rabies shots and the other shots, which may lead to cancer, and so I decided to play it safe and keep them inside.
One time, Sebastian managed to squeeze through the pottery wall I have in my laundry area and he ended up walking around the perimeter of the building on a ledge! I almost died! Thankfully he found his way to one of my two balconies and was safe. Whew!
Cats are a popular pet choice in Hong Kong; however, they are mostly the flat-faced cat varieties such as persians and exotics. We also have british shorthairs, a few maine coons etc. but mostly persians. Hong Kong people love their fat faces. They are also quieter and not so active and so suit the "living in a matchbox" style houses we have. Below is an example of a home in HK that has cat proofed the balcony (btw, it is not my apartment- it is an Alley Cats pic I found. Where I live looks over trees and a couple small parks!).
We also have a large stray population, which lots of research has been done on regarding feril population control. It's interesting. I'll have to get some more info on it. We also have Hong Kong Alley Cats, which is deals with, you guessed it, Alley cats! And a Cat Colony Programme run by the SPCA. It's all really well run.
My cats were all brought from overseas (one rescue and two from breeders) as the Hong Kong pet industry is pet shop oriented and not breeder oriented. I find it really interesting that most of the cats in pet stores have been imported, which makes me wonder about the breeders in Australia and the US who actually allow their animals to be sold in this way. But that's another story!
