The ‘Catwoman’ of Jakarta: West Java

By Barrie | July 22nd, 2007 | 3 Comments »

When the phone rings, Angie Schlaepfer knows she has to get the car ready and bring two traps — weighing some 3 kilograms each — and drive to pick up her next targets: street cats.

Most people, including cat lovers themselves, don’t know how to deal with the increasing number of street cats in the capital.

The sound of a cat’s purr is calming — but the only sound street cats seem capable of producing is their annoying mating howl.

Arriving in Jakarta in August 2005 to accompany her husband, a diplomatic official, Angie, — who worked at an animal shelter back in her homeland of New Zealand — could not ignore the plight of street cats in the city.

Angie has since been busy establishing the Jakarta Street Cat Foundation and collecting funds for the organization’s activities. She relies on donations to help vaccinate and sterilize cats before returning them to the street. Some, especially the little ones, she takes home.

It costs around Rp 300,000 (US$32) to vaccinate and sterilize each cat.

“The money goes directly to the veterinarian … I work free of charge,” she said.

By sterilizing a female cat — which can gave birth to a litter of kittens three times a year — the number of street cats can be reduced. In the case of male cats, sterilization makes them “calmer”, she said.

Word-of-mouth marketing has worked well for her organization. One of her donors is the U.S. Embassy, which wanted to do something about the stray cats around its compound.

“The common misconception people have is that clearing a cat from an area will end the problem. A cat marks its territory … it will return or find a new territory,” Angie said.

Currently working by herself, Angie dreams of establishing a cat-caring community and getting hold of a steady source of funding so she can extend her range of work.

“Although animal activists would say sterilizing a cat is violating its rights, it’s the only way to make them stronger and calmer … there is nobody to take care of them.

“It is, in a way, valuing life. Being kind to animals teaches people to be more compassionate to each other.”

For further information about the Jakarta Street Cat Foundation, e-mail: info@jakartastreetcat.com.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak