A hostel owner on Green Island is getting vital medical care for stray cats through an ingenious project. She asks visiting doctors to treat the cats, in exchange for accommodation and diving lessons. Dozens of cats have been successfully neutered or given care thanks to her tireless efforts. Now she’s even starting an adoption agency. Let’s head to Green Island to check it out.

Stray cats lounge in the sun on Green Island. They have a spat from time to time, and there are always one or two with an injury or illness. That prompted hostel owner Molly to conceive of this project, getting vets to come to the island and treat its feline population.

Molly
Cat lover
We are divers, and through that we met a vet who neuters cats, who was willing to help us. I can provide them with accommodation, diving instruction, or scooter rental. So we do a professional exchange of services.

Molly is a real cat lover. When she saw the stray cat population increasing, she had to act. By chance, a vet came to her for diving lessons, and she asked if they could exchange services. That way the visitor gets a holiday and a spot of diving, and local cats get medical attention and neutering.

A cat lies on the operating table to be neutered. In one year, the project has successfully neutered 80 cats. Injured and sick kitties have gotten care as well. And now Molly has a media platform where she finds stray cats new owners.

Molly
Cat lover
At first we were just running into the cats, and giving them some simple emergency care. Then we got our own place, and realized we could do more to help them. So I set up an adoption platform. I’m trying to give more kittens to people.

Green Island is one of Taiwan’s most idyllic spots, but it can be isolated. Getting all the services you need is not as simple as it might be in Taipei. But this hostel owner’s ingenuity and resourcefulness have gotten around that, allowing her to help out some of her most vulnerable community members.