Seoul’s Nabiya Cat Shelter

Nabiya Cat Shelter: in the heart of Seoul, a shelter saves abandoned and abused cats.

Who lives in Seoul and South Korea, knows that it is not uncommon, in the alleys of a dong, to come across one or more silhouettes of small felines with long whiskers, on the lookout, or dozing in front of a door. Many of them live outside like this, left on their own and often in bad shape. So we recently decided to go to one of the few animal shelters in the capital, following a call for donations and volunteers, launched by the Nabiya Cat Shelter on social networks.

We were so touched by our visit to this shelter, as well as by the work and remarkable involvement of the volunteers. They work every day to provide the best attention and care to the rescued cats, that we had to share about this fantastic association. Atelier Insadong.

Caitlin Gallagher is one of the volunteers from Seoul’s Nabiya Cat Shelter who welcomed us to tell more about the shelter. This 26-year-old American came to South Korea to teach English in elementary classes. Shortly after her arrival, she decides to get actively involved in animal protection. Her love for cats naturally led her in 2019 to join this refuge as a volunteer, before quickly becoming one of its main administrators.

An adventure that begins in a Seoul apartment

The Nabiya Cat Shelter was founded in 2007 by Ju, a South Korean woman, with the aim of helping and rescuing stray, alley as well as abandoned or injured cats. The shelter helps, welcomes and cares for all cats in need.
It is not uncommon for the refuge to intervene directly in proven cases of mistreatment, such as illegal breeding, unfortunately still too numerous in South Korea, as elsewhere in the world.

The hell of illegal breeding

Most of the time, the cats are kept in captivity there in appalling conditions, to be used only for the reproduction of sought after and lucrative breeds such as the Bengal, Ragdoll, Russian Blue etc … Even recently, the refuge came to help twenty cats and freed them from the terrible living conditions of one of these illegal farms in the capital.

Many of the cats taken in suffer from back pain, fractured jaws, blindness, malnutrition, etc. They need to receive substantial treatments several times a day, not to mention supplementary feeding.

Many of the cats taken in suffer from back pain, fractured jaws, blindness, malnutrition, etc. They need to receive substantial treatments several times a day, not to mention supplementary feeding.

Once rescued, cared for and fed properly, the goal is of course to find a loving forever home for the cats in the shelter. To do this, the Nabiya Cat Shelter has set up a personalized adoption and support program that not only allows cats to re-socialize with humans, but also to inform and prepare future adopters as much as possible.

Adopting a cat from a shelter is not a trivial matter and should in no case be an emotional decision taken on a whim. It is a long process that requires patience and a lot of self-sacrifice for new adopters. Indeed, the abandoned, stray, wild cats taken in by the Nabiya Cat Shelter, have had very difficult lives outside. Left on their own in sometimes extreme survival conditions, mistreated or starving, they are most often rescued sick, traumatized, fearful or aggressive. It takes some time for them to feel safe, to heal and fearlessly get used to live with human beings. As for new adopters, it is essential that they be well informed about what it means to live with a cat on a daily basis and to be responsible for it.
The shelter’s adoption program has the merit of offering full support and ensuring that the adoption is mutual … for the best possible life together!

The Nabiya shelter does an admirable and considerable job, thanks to its volunteers’ involvment. But their work encounters many difficulties and challenges, customary to many associations in charge of animal protection. Among the first, unsurprisingly, it is the economic and financial aspect. Indeed, operating a shelter generates very important costs, in particular related to veterinary care (sterilizations, surgeries, hospitalizations, etc …), expensive medical treatments, medication which must be given daily to cats, in addition to food related expenses.

So the existence of the three shelters of the Nabiya Cat Shelter, is only made possible thanks to donations and involvement of volunteers and people wishing to adopt a cat from the shelter. Every day, the shelter posts stories on social networks, which notably allowed the adoption of a hundred cats last year.