Vets treat the cats of Houtong

獸醫為猴硐的街貓義診

The municipality’sveterinarianunion and the New Taipei City Government’s Animal Protection and HealthInspection Office sent eight veterinarians to HoutongVillage to do free checkups on the cats there.

The checkups were motivated by a popular Facebook post from an animal protection volunteer, Lin Kun-chin, who wrote about the poor health of the cats in the area.

Lin said that the cat heaven in the township has been marketed to tourists in recent years, but many of the cats have not been spayed and had eye and mouth diseases. He said that if the city government is using the cats to make money then they should set up facilities to care of them.

The veterinarians and local residentsgathered cats in the streets and took them to a temporary checkup station. A veterinarian said many of the cats had skin disease, due to parasites and them not been given suitable vaccines.

Office director Chiu Kuo-hao said the cats in Houtong were vaccinated once a year, and that the office would promote proper care for animals.

新北市獸醫公會與新北市政府動物保護防疫處出動八名獸醫，前往猴硐為街貓義診。

這次義診主要起因於動保志工林坤進在臉書的發文，這篇受到熱烈討論的發文，其內容是關於猴硐地區的病貓。

林坤進表示最近這幾年，對遊客號稱是貓天堂的猴硐村，其實裡面有許多貓咪尚未結紮，還患有結膜炎與口炎。他表示如果政府使用貓咪獲利，他們應該要負責建立相關配套措施，好好照顧貓咪。

獸醫與當地居民把街貓聚集起來，並帶牠們到臨時健檢站接受義診，一位獸醫表示許多的貓咪有皮膚病是因為寄生蟲的關係，以及沒有施打預防疫苗所致。

不過，新北市動保處動物保護組邱國皜表示，其實每年定期都會為猴硐街貓施打疫苗一次，之後將提升對動物照顧的品質。

Beginner word list

protection (n) 保護

The protection of endangered animals is important.

保護瀕臨絕種的動物是很重要的。

health (n)健康

Eating junk food is bad for one's health.                

吃垃圾食物對人的身體不好。

popular (adj)廣為流傳的；流行的

A-mei is a popular singer.

阿妹是一位流行音樂的歌手。

area (n)區域

There are many clothing shops in this area.

這個區域有許多賣衣服的店家。

recent (adj)最近的

Smartphones have become popular in recent years.

智慧型手機最近這幾年變得很流行。

gather (v)集合

Many people gathered outside the theater to see the movie star.

許多人集合在電影院外頭，就是為了一睹電影明星的風采。

station (n) (設施等的)站；車站

Mike got off the train at Tainan station.

麥可在臺南火車站下車。

director (n)主管；導演

The famous director made his new movie in Taiwan.

這位著名的導演在臺灣拍攝新的電影作品。

Reference word list:

municipality (n) 自治市                             

veterinarian (n) 獸醫                                  

union (n)協會                     i

inspection (n) 檢查

motivate (v)激發                  i

volunteer (n)義工                       i

tourist (n)遊客                     i                      

disease (n)疾病                  i

facility (n)設施                     i      

resident (n) 居民                  i      

temporary (adj)暫時的                i      

parasite (n) 寄生蟲

vaccine (n) 疫苗

promote (v)促進                  i

Challenge Yourself

(   ) 1. How many vets were sent to Houtong?

(A) Twenty.

(B) One.

(C) Eleven.

(D) Eight.

(   ) 2. Who wrote a Facebook post about the health of the cats?

(A) Lin Kun-chin.

(B) The municipality’s veterinarian union.

(C) Chiu Kuo-hao.

(D) Chou Wen-wu.

(   ) 3. Which is true?

(A) There are many facilities to look after the cats.

(B) The vets took the cats to a checkup station.

(C) The local residents took the cats to an MRT station.

(D) Many of the vets had parasites.

(   ) 4. What happened to the cats?

(A) They had skin, eye, and mouth diseases.

(B) They had too many people looking after them.

(C) They had a fever.

(D) They weren't making money.

(   ) 5. How often are the cats in Houtong vaccinated?

(A) Never.

(B) Eight times a year.

(C) Once a year.

(D) Once a month.

(Answers: D,A,B,A,C)

Writer: Kenneth Paul

Editor: Candy Tang

Proofreader: Grace Chang