Cats Leila and Luke were walking outside, in the darkness of night, doing their normal cat things, when they came across a piece of fish on the ground. As they lowered their head to eat the delicious sardine, a snare trap violently snapped around their necks. 

They had fallen victims to the traps that are set nightly by cat thieves in Vietnam. As they struggled to get free, the trap only tightened even more around their neck. They couldn’t escape. After what could have been hours, the thief came back to collect any cats. 

As he shoved the cats into a canvas bag and got on his motorbike, our local team with partner charity, Vietnam Cat Welfare, happened to hear what was happening. Luckily for these cats, the motorbike happened to stop almost right in front of their office, and staff members could hear inside the bag, screeching and howling-meows. It was clear these animals needed help. 

The staff desperately attempted to stop the bike, even stepping in its path to prevent the bike speeding off. The thief was startled and had no choice but to stay put. The police quickly arrived and after some discussion, he was ordered to hand over the bag of cats over to the Vietnam Cat Welfare, given that they were stolen property.

The team was concerned at what injuries the cats might possibly have. Both received immediate veterinary care involving fluids, antibiotics for their wounds sustained from the traps, and pain medication. They were later vaccinated, dewormed, and sterilized. Vietnam Cat Welfare searched for the cat’s original owners for several months, but unfortunately no one came forward.

Today, both cats are doing wonderfully, and are up for adoption at a local cat café in Hoi An, Vietnam.

Read more about our work in Vietnam here!