Expats Return to Hong Kong and Move to Tai O, Beginning a Wonderful Relationship with an AIDS-infected Cat "Mickey"
Hiyuki has been raising cats on his own since college. After living in the United States, he returned to Hong Kong with his cat, who had accompanied him for 18 years. He became more familiar with feline habits, and since the cat's departure, he had given up on the idea of keeping pets in Hong Kong. However, after six years without pets, he fostered an AIDS-infected cat named "Mickey" in Tai O and began to reacquaint himself with living with cats.
The amazing fate began a year before the fostering when Typhoon Mangkhut hit Hong Kong. Catwoman saw Mickey, a fat cat, in danger and asked Hiyuki to foster him for two days. At that time, Hiyuki saw a cat with flattened fur, dirty and disheveled, and fat and sluggish. His obsessive-compulsive nature contrasted sharply with Mickey. As there were three other kittens taking shelter at the time, he placed Mickey in a separate warehouse - the bathroom. After a night of gentle grooming, Mickey freely walked around the house and even followed Hiyuki's father like a personal ointment. Mickey had a solitary, chubby uncle personality with a touch of the underworld, not interacting with other cats but very friendly to humans. After Typhoon Mangkhut, Mickey was taken back to the streets by Catwoman and volunteers, continuing his life as a roaming, unowned cat. However, a year later, Mickey contracted feline AIDS due to fighting, with a bleak outlook, suffering from a bloody nose and nearly two months of hospitalization. One day, Catwoman called Hiyuki and asked for his help. Hiyuki immediately agreed and took Mickey to his home to foster.
Living Together with an AIDS-Infected Cat Inspires the Establishment of Tai O's "AIDS Cat House"
When Mickey returned to Hiyuki's home, he appeared emaciated and weak, still having the personality of an underworld boss but showing a "past his prime" vibe. As always, he followed Hiyuki's father like a sugar-coated bean, and Hiyuki described his home as becoming a nursing home. Reacquainting himself with living with cats wasn't difficult for Hiyuki; he thought it only required changing some habits, such as feeding and cleaning, and reducing time spent away overnight. However, it felt like having a child waiting at home, and he was always worried. After two months of fostering at Hiyuki's home, Mickey transformed back into a "cute house cat" resembling a chubby underworld boss. Unfortunately, after two years of brief interaction with Mickey, the fat cat passed away due to long-term kidney problems.
Looking back on Mickey's 14-year life, he went from being a wild cat on a rock wall to a pet in Tai O, then abandoned to become a stray, and finally a beloved cat of Yong An Street. Due to fighting, he contracted feline AIDS and eventually passed away at Hiyuki's home. Mickey's fate of being loved and abandoned deeply touched Hiyuki, making him realize that "having a home makes a cat child a treasure," and because of Mickey, Hiyuki discovered that feline AIDS isn't scary. It only causes cats to lose their immunity and can be transmitted to other cats through blood or mating, but it doesn't affect humans. As a result, he began to temporarily take in some AIDS-infected cats and founded the "AIDS Cat House" on this basis. Now, his home has become a sanctuary for AIDS-infected cats, currently fostering two cats named Zhi Zhi and Ah Wang.
Vote for me:
Let's all cheer for Tai O's "AIDS Cat House" together! Most importantly, we hope that everyone will refrain from buying pets or abandoning them. Instead, try to help stray animals by adopting, fostering, or providing assistance, giving them a home.
