Our youngest was recently ambushed by an old lady in our lane, and afterwards returned to the house with a fragile bundle of the small striped kitten variety, presented to her as a “gift.” We rushed out to find the kind gift-giver but she had conveniently disappeared. When we finally tracked her down the following week she said, laughing, “I found it but I didn’t want it, so I gave it to you!” Of course she did.

Giving a pet as a gift is unthinkable where I come from, unless it’s from from parent to child. In speaking with friends in Shanghai, though, many have received all kinds of animals as gifts, although kittens are by far the most popular. Shanghai is awash with stray cats, and every lane seems to have their own resident feline population with an endless supply of kittens.

For Chinese friends, giving a child a kitten, duckling or rabbit is akin to giving a small disposable toy, with no real expectation of a lifelong responsibility to it. You can just give it away (or worse, throw it away) when you’re done playing with it. Much as we want to save the kittens of Shanghai from this fate, what are the real costs of accepting a stray?

I spoke with senior veterinarian Dr. Stephanie Goltz of Eagle Valley Veterinary Centre about the issues involved in caring for a stray kitten. Goltz advises that as a bare minimum, kittens will need treatment for fleas and intestinal worms, and receive their first immunization for cat flu—prevalent in strays—and feline parvovirus. This will cost around RMB450 provided they have no other health problems. Two further boosters are due at monthly intervals, and at the time of the third booster kittens also need to be vaccinated against rabies.

“The prevalence of rabies in Shanghai’s cat population is fortunately virtually non-existent,” Goltz says. Given the severity of the disease, however, she recommends that all dogs and cats be vaccinated. She also recommends that families with pets receive rabies vaccinations themselves. “Cats will also need to be de-sexed between 8 and 12 months of age,” Goltz reminds us.

Our kitten is now a bigger, healthier cat and a much-loved part of the family, but every time we see that kind lady, we walk the other way. Who knows what else she’s hiding in her pockets?

Do you have a pet in Shanghai? Tell us about it here.