E-shopping finds homes for stray cats

Zhou Lina had thought about adopting a stray cat for a long time, but didn't know how to go about it until she called up a page on Jingdong Mall, one of China's biggest online shopping websites, on Friday.

The Jingdong-Lucky Cats adoption center was put online by Jingdong Mall on Monday, to help people like Zhou adopt strays.

"I think Jingdong Mall is a reliable platform to reach these stray cats and I will contact them soon," said Zhou, an office worker in Beijing.

Although it has only just started, the online shopping platform is proving effective.

Zeng Li, head of Lucky Cats, a volunteer organization that helps people adopt stray cats, told China Daily on Friday: "The page has been online for less than a week and we have received more than 100 adoption applications through the platform.

"The number of applications has tripled compared with previously, so we are very satisfied with it so far."

The online adoption center is located on the pet life channel at jd.com. Customers can browse information on stray cats provided by Lucky Cats on the Web page. They can then send an application to Lucky Cats, whose staff will communicate with customers about the adoption procedures through e-mail or face-to-face interviews, and provide advice on care before the adoption agreement is signed.

The online service is free and those who successfully adopt cats will receive a 30 yuan ($4.85) coupon from Jingdong in the first month of adoption.

Due to animal health and safety concerns, the adoption service is limited to customers in Beijing.

The new online service aims to encourage people to adopt, instead of buying, cats and to help more strays find homes, according to Jingdong.

Tan Xiaoci, a spokeswoman for Jingdong Mall, said: "The number of applications to adopt stray cats has clearly been increasing. Since the platform went online we have received a lot of attention."

She said the platform is a public welfare program, adding that it is very meaningful to find a good home for the cats and the company is happy to have this cooperation with Lucky Cats.

Zeng said: "We boggled at the thought of using an electronic shopping platform for such a public welfare program at the very beginning.

"But after more communication with them, we decided to give it a try. Now we can see that it really helps to increase the number of applications."

Lucky Cats was founded in January 2001 in Beijing by a group of young people who love cats. Since then, it has helped more than 1,000 strays find homes.

On Saturday afternoon, a group of Jingdong customers will visit Lucky Cats for a talk on adopting strays. "We want to expand the adoption channel through more platforms," Zeng said.

One Internet user named "sideward cat" said on the Lucky Cats' micro blog that such cooperation between the two sides is a good idea and he will support it. Another netizen named "Funtong" said the new online platform will allow more people to adopt strays.