The guard of my village is a cat hoarder. When I realised he kept cats in his little cabin, I went to ask him if he needed help with the cats. What I meant by help was to get them sterilised and give him food for them. So when he said yes, I contacted Soi Dog to set up a date to pick up the cats. He later changed his mind and refused to let them be sterilised. Even after Soi Dog spoke to him directly, and after my Thai friend also talked to him, he still refused. It was September 2024 and there were 4 cats then. Young ones. A beautiful fluffy orange cat, two black cats, and one small black and white cat.
I used to look at them through the window.
Then I started to push the window open to have a better look.
And after I talked to the guard about helping, I started going in to give them some food and some attention. The guard was hardly ever there. He seemed to spend more time at the other entrance.
I also started cleaning their litter box because it was absolutely gross. They mostly had diarrhea, it stank so bad in there, the sand that was used was actual sand, and it didn’t get cleaned very often. Even after I started to get them proper litter, the guard didn’t clean more often.
What’s in that picture is far from the worst I’ve seen…
That’s around that time that I realised Onyx probably came from there. The cat feeder who wanted me to keep him knew it but didn’t tell me straightforwardly. She just told me his owner was not looking after him properly. She had him sterilised because he used to roam free further away than the other ones, and then she told me he was my cat! Only took me 6 months to figure this out!
Anyway, I saw the cats daily, and I started to get more and more annoyed with that man for the way he was looking after them. The orange cat disappeared after a while. Not sure what happened. Then the guard found a mother and two kittens and asked me for help. So glad he did, because I took them to the hospital and never gave them back to him. They had fungus, they couldn’t be around other cats, and by the time they were cleared, I knew better than to give them back. They spent three months with us before being adopted as a family.
Two weeks after we took in the mother and her two kittens, the guard asked me for help with another mother cat and 4 kittens. They were so tiny. Their eyes looked bad. Took them to the hospital. The vet cleaned them and gave some eye drops for them with clear instructions. I explained everything to the guard. And then, I noticed that the kittens died, one after the other. They should have been looked after properly. He left them in the dirty cabin with the other four cats. I’m pretty sure they all died, but when I saw how badly he was looking after them, I stopped going. It made me too upset, and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have any more space at home, and people are reluctant to help when there’s an owner. And by helping him, I was actually enabling him.
I stopped talking to the man altogether and actively avoided him. I knew he wanted one of the first kittens back, but I blocked him so he couldn’t call me, and I just pretended I didn’t know him. I’m usually a pretty direct person, but for once, I was happy to adapt to the culture and communicate indirectly!
For the past (almost) two years, I’ve seen his cabin filled with more and more cats. There always seems to be new kittens. The cats aren’t sterilised, and I wonder if it’s always the same female getting pregnant, or if he has more than one now.
I’m so glad I caught one of them in April 2025, because she came close to my house. She was very affectionate, and I was pretty sure she was pregnant. I had seen her pregnant before and who knows how many times she had been. I took her to Soi Dog. They aborted her and sterilised her. And she’s been living her best life since. She’s by far the healthiest-looking of all his cats. The guard knew it was me who did it, but I pretended I didn’t understand what he said when he mentioned it. Thanks to this guy, I’ve upped my playing-dumb skills. I had Salem sterilised at the same time, and well, a few months later, he became my cat.
The reason why I’m talking about this today is because last night, I saw one of his cats outside. The black and white one. Who must be about 2 years old. He was looking very sick. Skinny, infested with ear mites, apathetic. He didn’t want the food I offered him. I think the guard likes kittens, but once they grow, he doesn’t care so much anymore. It makes me so mad.
I had some Advocate drops at home so I got some and applied them on him. Maybe it will help with the parasites. But his condition seems more serious. A neighbour stopped by when I was with the cat, and she said he was old. But no, he’s not old! I know this cat, and he was a small kitten in September 2024.
I contacted Soi Dog this morning to see if they could help. I explained in detail. The conversation is not over, but I’m not super optimistic.
These are 3 of the texts I received while explaining the situation and sharing my concerns. I intend to take photos and videos tomorrow if I can.
I’m also planning on taking at least one cat from near the market to the hospital for a check-up and sterilisation. Maybe two or three if they let me catch them. And if they’re there when I go look for them…
If Soi Dog won’t do anything about the guard’s cats, I will ask in a local animal group if someone is willing to do something to help the cats. I’m sure there will be people who will share my concerns. I just don’t know how willing to act anyone will be, and as a foreigner, I feel it’s harder for me to make that call. I’m so so so angry at that man though!