Guest guest Posted November 25, 2006 Report Share Posted November 25, 2006 Grandma Ding and Her Cats and Dog Retired college professor Ding Shiying, 79, keeps about 200 stray cats (and a dog) in her old courtyard house near Beihai in Beijing. During SARS in 2003, while others were abandoning cats, she took them in. Ding Shiying spends her pension to buy cat food and vaccines. Sympathetic people help by donating food, sheets, vaccines and money to help her and the cats. The following photos/article/slide show and flash animation are in chronological order, the first images are from 2003. ====================== -Getty Images: May 17, 2003 BEIJING - MAY 17: Mrs. Ding, a retired university teacher, holds an abandoned cat in the courtyard outside her home which serves as a shelter for 75 felines May 17, 2003 in Beijing, China. Ding said there has been a dramatic increase in the number of cats dropped off at her house in recent weeks as rumors have spread that cats may carry the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus. Although researchers have not ruled out the possibility that animals can spread SARS, Ding has appeared on Beijing television recently to express her belief that the illness is not spread by cats. There have been over 5,200 confirmed cases of SARS and 282 deaths attributed to the pneumonia-like illness in China. (Photo by Getty Images) http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/details_pop.aspx?iid=2007812 & cdi=\ 0 BEIJING - MAY 17: Two abandoned cats rest in a box outside the home of Mrs. Ding, a retired university teacher who runs a shelter for 75 felines May 17, 2003 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Getty Images) http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/details_pop.aspx?iid=2007809 & cdi=\ 0 BEIJING - MAY 17: An abandoned cat rests in a basket outside the home of Mrs. Ding, a retired university teacher who runs a shelter for 75 felines May 17, 2003 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Getty Images) http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/details_pop.aspx?iid=2007806 & cdi=\ 0 BEIJING - MAY 17: Mrs. Ding ©, a retired university teacher, checks on cats in the courtyard outside her home which serves as a shelter for 75 abandoned felines May 17, 2003 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Getty Images) http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/details_pop.aspx?iid=2007796 & cdi=\ 0 BEIJING - MAY 17: Mrs. Ding, a retired university teacher, prepares food for 75 cats at her home which serves as a shelter for abandoned felines May 17, 2003 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Getty Images) http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/details_pop.aspx?iid=2007795 & cdi=\ 0 BEIJING - MAY 17: Mrs. Ding, a retired university teacher, puts out food for 75 cats at her home which serves as a shelter for abandoned felines May 17, 2003 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Getty Images) http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/details_pop.aspx?iid=2007788 & cdi=\ 0 BEIJING - MAY 17: Mrs. Ding, a retired university teacher, hangs a bag of steamed bread in her kitchen as she prepares food for 75 cats at her home which serves as a shelter for abandoned felines May 17, 2003 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Getty Images) http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/details_pop.aspx?iid=2007783 & cdi=\ 0 BEIJING - MAY 17: Mrs. Ding, a retired university teacher, prepares food for 75 cats at her home which serves as a shelter for abandoned felines May 17, 2003 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Getty Images) http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/details_pop.aspx?iid=2007778 & cdi=\ 0 ....................... -Photo Slide Show: 2006-02-23 http://english.cri.cn/974/2006/02/23/271 (AT) 54478 (DOT) htm ....................... Unwanted Cats and Grandma Ding Chinastic 2006/02/28 Seventy-eight-year-old Grandma Ding lives alone in a tranquil hutong (traditional alley) home near Beijing's Houhai Lake. Her small house is protected by two sets of doors -- an outer red iron one and an inner wooden one. Most of the time she keeps both doors closed, and you'll soon understand why. No sounds leak through until you knock on the door, and almost instantly a dog begins to bark. The barking continues for quite some time before Grandma Ding finally comes to open the doors. She lets you in, then quickly shuts both doors. Inside there is an odd smell in the air. Is it the smell of fish? Or maybe it's the odor of the numerous cats strolling casually around the room? The white cute dog that had been barking hysterically just now, becomes completely silent while he and Grandma Ding lead you into the bedroom. Inside the room, the odor becomes even more pronounced. You see another huge number of cats lying on the floor, crouching on the table, and occupying the bed. Grandma Ding sits down on the edge of the bed. With the dog settled at her feet and a yellow fat cat climbing into her arms, she waits for you to introduce yourself. This is a common scenario at Grandma Ding's. Strangers keep coming to visit. They are either media reporters, volunteers, or people dropping off unwanted pets, who unfortunately, Grandma Ding really loathes. She tells us how most of the cats here were abandoned by their owners. While other 78-year-olds pass their time practicing Tai Chi or playing board games, Grandma Ding spends her days like this: she gets up at 6am, makes breakfast for 160 cats and one dog, opens the doors to check if there are any abandoned cats waiting outside, makes sure all the animals are kept in the house to avoid getting hit by strangers, does a bit of housecleaning, takes sick cats to the hospital, arranges for newcomer cats to be spayed or neutered, brings them home, plays with the healthy ones, cooks fish and other tasty animal food, answers phone calls of " please take my cat, I can't keep it anymore, my family hates it " and " my cat has some disease, I don't know what to do, maybe you could take it " , and many other tasks as part of her busy day taking care of cats that lasts until 2 o'clock in the morning. For Grandma Ding, 24 hours in a day is not enough time to take care of over a hundred animals. But people keep throwing away cats, and street cats keep finding refuge at Grandma Ding's. To this elderly lady of small-stature, protecting animals is just part of her " mother hen " instinct; she couldn't even imagine giving up any of her pets. Exhaustion has become the common feeling of each day for her. And she is getting more overwhelmed as the number of animals keeps increasing. She deals with many challenges: when 10 kilograms of cat food is not enough for one day, when volunteers come and go, when each spaying/neutering procedure costs hundreds of yuan. Her total monthly costs reach 4000 yuan, which is close to the amount earned by an average white-collar worker. But Grandma Ding is happy, isn't she? She's already 78 years old but she looks 58. After spending sixty years of her life with cats she has developed a deep feeling towards them - pure love. And this kind of love isn't just shown with two little words; it involves daily actions, all part of providing a haven for stray animals. Grandma Ding offers her eternal care and love to these needy animals, befriending them when the rest of the world has turned its back. Extra information: If you love animals and want to help, Grandma Ding will be very glad if you visit her house and spend some time with the cats, each of whom by the way, has its own name. Donations are gratefully accepted. http://english.cri.cn/974/2006/02/28/271 (AT) 56233_1 (DOT) htm [Poster's Note: Location, phone number and donation details are given on the above article] ....................... -Photos On Simao's Home blog (Chinese): 2006-07-20 http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/542dc4ac010004qw http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/542dc4ac010003lm ....................... -Flash Animation (Chinese): (date unknown) Animation about Granny Ding by Paradise Band via Tom.com. http://flash.ent.tom.com/flash_show.php?user=airtop & id=50829 .................... EPA Images: 21 September 2006 Retired physician Ding Shiyi (L), 79 years-old, has 200 cats that were once abandoned on the streets which she has adopted in her small home in Beijing, 21 September 2006. Beijing has at least five million homeless and abandoned cats that could face extermination by city authorities ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics, according to a local expert. (EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS) http://www.photobahn.net/showimage.php?imageid=584132 Retired physician Ding Shiyi, 79 years-old, sits with some of her 200 cats that were once abandoned on the streets which she has adopted in her small home in Beijing, 21 September 2006. (EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS) http://www.photobahn.net/showimage.php?imageid=584129 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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