Bali cats and dogs

As in all developing countries, most domestic animals in Indonesia have much tougher lives than their Western counterparts. Certainly the middle classes and the wealthy have their designer dogs, but anyone who has been to Bali (in particular) will be aware of the dog problem. Street dogs are often malnourished, mistreated and diseased, with rabies a very real problem. We have noticed on this trip that there are fewer dogs than usual and it appears that the authorities have undertaken measures to reduce numbers, almost certainly involving culling. Animal cruelty is common and it falls to private agencies to pick up animals damaged from beatings or traffic accidents and do what they can. Overworked and certainly always struggling for funds, these agencies do wonderful work. Indonesian-trained vets work in clinics to immunise, sterilise and, when all else fails, euthanise their charges.

If the dogs have it bad, and they do, they are at least mostly tolerated and allowed to wander the streets and take sustenance from the small amounts of food left in temples and offerings that dot every pavement. Cats are regarded by most Balinese as being beneath contempt.

Because the original Ubud animal welfare agency, BAWuA (Bali Animal Welfare Association) tried to cover the needs of all animals that came to their attention with very limited resources, a couple of years ago one of its volunteers, Ehlizabeth Henzell, branched out and created Villa Kitty to focus purely on the needs hof cats and kittens.

Reliant, as are all agencies, on donations and fundraising, Villa Kitty has created a purpose-built facility on the outskirts of Ubud that employs local professional staff and assistants. Part of the work is as a rescue centre where animals are nursed back to health, immunised, sterilised and made ready for fostering or, even better, adoption. But education is important also, and Villa Kitty is slowly changing attitudes by reaching out to local children and teaching them that cats are not to be feared. Recently they organised for 12 kittens to be taken to an orphanage to be cared for and loved by the children, with Villa Kitty picking up the tab for all expenses. So far it seems to be a great success.

A well-attended fundraising event was held today - a lunch at the beautiful Maya Ubud Resort. Absolutely fantastic food, raffles and auctions all helped to fill the Kitty coffers. Elizabeth mentioned that at present they have 102 kittens and although they are beyond capacity they will never turn a needy cat away. And of course people still dump, even, I'm sorry to say, Westerners who have previously  made a commitment to keep a Villa Kitty cat. You have to admire the dedication of all the staff and volunteers who work under such difficult circumstances.

A charming aspect of the day was an auction of cat-themed artworks done by children from the Green School. Some genuine talent there.

For us, too, attending the lunch was a way of reaching into the expat community here. We caught up again with a Queensland couple who now live here that we met on a previous trip.  So it's drinks and dinner next week with them. We also sat with a man from NSW who has also made the move, and he gave us some great insights.  An invitation to become involved with Bali International Women's Association offers more opportunities. A good day.

Bali Animal Welfare Agencies

• BAWA Bali
• BARC
• Bali Street Dogs
• Villa Kitty