One Good Thing: Midnight Cafeteria feeds Taipei's stray cats

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 ir dining situation recently with “Midnight Cafeteria” project.

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

It began in math teacher Hung Pei-ling’s neighborhood, where about 20 neighbors are helping stray cats in addition to ir 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 toger, 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 or cat lovers in neighborhood who buy cats food, help clean houses and coordinate with residents who may have complaints.

Hung also helps capture injured cats and cats that need spaying, takes m to get veterinary attention and n returns m to ir haunts.

wooden houses in Hung's neighborhood were hand-painted by a local artist Stefa 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 cats. Neighbors have brought small cushions as well as decorated cardboard boxes to add to houses.

Started by Chen Chen-yi, a researcher at Taiwan Animal Equality Association, cat houses help ensure stray cats get fed well and local residents do t have to deal with a mess. y also raise awareness about spaying program and condition of stray cats.

“In Taiwan re are a lot of people who feed strays, but often y leave a mess, and n public becomes anyed by it and y become anyed with strays as well," he said.

cat houses were a multiteam effort. Chen applied for a grant from Taipei city government to fund project, and n 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 ar volunteer who came to feed m. After eating at cafeteria, y settled in for a lazy morning nap.

(Im Credit: AP)