Hello Street Cat
Hello Street Cat (哈啰街猫) is a program developed by Guangxi Hapet Network Technology Co., Ltd. and launched in April 13th, 2023. The app is "Committed to improving the harmonious coexistence between people and stray cats through the power of technology."[1] Its goal is to monitor the stray cats, Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR), and have people adopt, not shop.[2]
Official links to the app: App Store
Information
How Hello Street Cat works is by monitoring every cat that enters the cat house, scan the cat's back, front, and sides, and create a file based on the cat. After the cat is monitored for awhile and it's behavior is recorded properly, the cat will be either neutered or adopted.
There are currently 400,000 stray cats Shanghai, and the population is only increasing daily. The reproduction of these cats can be astounding, as in only 7 years, 420,000 kittens can be produced. The "Hello Street Cat" Cat feeders are in 13 cities in China. As of the 23rd of January, 2024, 5,600 communities in Shanghai have gotten a cat feeder. In December 2023, Hello Street Cat had sterilized more than 12,000 stray cats.[3]
Controversy
Some people think feeding stray cats is a bad thing to do, as cats can breed faster without having to scavenge for food and cause the overpopulation of cats to only increase. Others think that introducing these cat houses will make stray cats come over more often and stay there.
After about half a year with the introduction of the Cat Feeders, most residents have calmed down about the potential problems, seeing as most cats were becoming sterilized and the population is becoming controlled in some communities.[3]