Lao Mao, who is known to his friends as Old Cat, is getting the attention that he deserves after becoming a hero in Wuhan, China.
The 43-year-old man broke into homes to get access inside and save all the abandoned animals. With six other animal rescuers, they have at least saved 2,000 household pets from starvation and even death after their owners had been quarantines and were unable to come back home.
Lao Mao, whose real name is Shuai Lihua, is a veterinarian and runs the online pet community Wuhan Pet Life.
“In the past few days my line was always busy. Each day I received hundreds of requests and had to visit 20 to 30 households,” he told The Telegraph.
Of those they rescued, 99 percent were cats, 0.5 were dogs, while the rest were rabbit and hamsters. Most of their rescues were successful, but there were also cases where the kittens had already starved to death.
“They were all very scared and stressed. Some cats were extremely short of food and water,” Lao Mao said. “When I went there to fill food and water for the cat, it stuck very close to me. It drank for more than 10 seconds when usually cats just drink for two to three seconds.”
You might want to read:
– About 50,000 pets feared to starve to death in Wuhan after their owners evacuated
– Animal lovers save pets in virus-stricken Wuhan
– Can your pets get coronavirus?
