At a cat rescue and adoption center in Chengdu, Sichuan province, a young woman is going through an adoption process the center sees as a necessary ritual that attests to their bonding. She already has an orange tabby at home, and has decided to find it a companion by adopting a kitten.
在四川成都的一家猫咪救助收养中心，一位年轻女子正在走收养程序。收养中心认为这是见证主人和被领养猫走向亲密关系的必要仪式。她家里已经有了一只橘猫，她决定再收养一只小猫和它做个伴儿。
After filling in an online questionnaire about adoption, she is at the center to pick up the kitten, which she will take home complete with adoption papers and pictures with which to remember the occasion.
在填写了线上收养问卷后，她便来到救助中心，把小猫带回家，同时带回收养文件和照片，为这一刻留下纪念。
▲ Xu Zhe. Photo provided to China Daily
The center's founder, Xu Zhe, heads a team of nine that takes responsibility for rescuing cats in Chengdu and in nearby Chongqing. Chengdu is located in a basin and is notorious for its muggy and overcast climate, but in the cat rescue center, outside the city's third ring road, the atmosphere is one of supreme comfort. Several tabby cats stretch out on a chair with their round faces lost in sleep; other cats meow and swipe their tail gently at your feet; some lie meekly in volunteers' arms, dozing but somehow seeming alert. Here, newborn kittens and their mothers live safely in isolated rooms with ample food and clean water, waiting for adopters.
救助中心的创始人叫许哲，他带领九人团队救助成都和重庆的猫咪。成都地处盆地地带，气候闷热湿冷，但城市三环以外的救助中心，其环境却十分宜人。几只猫咪在椅子上伸着懒腰，圆嘟嘟的脸上还带着几分睡意；其他的猫咪喵喵叫着，用小尾巴在人的脚边蹭；还有一些猫咪依偎在志愿者的臂弯里，懒洋洋的，但不知怎地很警觉。刚出生的小猫和猫妈妈安全地隔离在房间中，有充足的食物和干净的水，等待着收养者的到来。
Xu's internet stray cat adoption and rescue service, Living with Cats, has 10 millions of followers across the country. Beginning in April 2019, Xu filmed instances of rescuing stray cats, edited them into videos and uploaded them to the video website Bilibili. He was awarded one of the site's top 100 content creators last year. His rescue work predates that, starting in early 2016.
作为一家猫咪领养救助平台，“和猫住”目前在全网已有上百万粉丝。2019年4月份开始，许哲把自己救助流浪猫的过程拍下，剪辑成视频陆续上传到视频网站“哔哩哔哩”。去年他还被评为百大UP主。但其实他的救助工作早在2016初就开始了。
The rescue center does not accept donations, but those who support it send cat food, cat litter and cans of food from all over the country, meaning that cupboards at the center are never empty.
救助中心并不接受捐赠，但支持者们会从全国各地寄送来猫粮、猫砂、猫罐头，堆满了中心的食橱。
Relying on the rewards and subsidies of video platforms, Living with Cats receives a fee every month. This is a drop in the bucket that barely covers operating costs, and the time and effort that Xu and his team pour into their work do not equate to the figures you find in a healthy bank statement. The ultimate reward for those who work is knowing they are saving cats' lives. More than 300 cats were rescued in 2019, and more than 200 were put out for adoption, Xu says.
靠着视频网站和平台的打赏补贴，“和猫住”每个月会领到一笔费用。虽是杯水车薪勉强支撑基本的运转，但许哲和伙伴们付出的时间和工作成本，很多时候难以兑换成银行账户里的一串数字。对他们而言，猫咪们顺利存活就是最好的回报，这无法用金钱衡量。“初算了下，2019年大概救助了300多只猫咪，有200多人成功领养了猫咪。”
Those who admire what Xu is doing have nicknamed him the Cat Fighter, and the reason for that is clear from the many exploits he has had plucking cats from peril and even the jaws of death. These include: saving a dying cat trapped in a 10-meter deep elevator well; retrieving a tabby cat from a sewer after it had not eaten for almost a week; plucking to safety a stray cat trapped in a tree 20 meters high.
欣赏许哲的人给他起了个外号叫做“猫咪消防员”，之所以这样称呼，是因为他曾多次解救猫咪于危难之中，比如救出困于电梯10米高深井中已经奄奄一息的猫咪、救出待在河流下水道里快一周都未进食的狸花猫、救出悬挂在20米高的树上的流浪猫……
In the video, Xu, wearing rimmed black glasses, looks bookish, yet he has much more dexterity than someone who simply turns pages. He is strong and often needs to be faster and even more nimble than the cats he is trying to save.
在视频中，黑框眼镜让许哲看起来带着些书生气，实际上他做的事可比翻书敏捷得多。他很强壮，经常比他试图拯救的猫更快、更灵活。
After a tip-off is received he hits the road, and if all goes well, returns with the rescued cat to the center, where the recovery mission continues, the fortunate cat receiving copious doses of attention as well as food and any other physical help it may need. Though there is a common thread running through his routine—hear, go and seek, find, bring back to the center—Xu has myriad workplaces, whether it be the roof of a shed, the outer wall of a high-rise building, the deep well of an elevator, or a sewer next to a river.
接到线索、外出救助、将救助成功的猫咪带回中心、给它们喂食铲屎、做身体检查……许哲每天的生活看似重复而循环。不同的是，猫咪救助的地点可能在棚屋的屋顶、高层楼房的外墙、电梯的深井或者河流旁的下水道里。
Injuries while rescuing cats are common, he says, and that of course includes being scratched or bitten by cats.
救助过程中受伤是常事，许哲说被猫抓伤、咬伤的情况更屡见不鲜。
In addition to physical scars, Xu and those who work with him also face emotional challenges. Some people take a dim view of what they are doing and even refer to cat and dog lovers in a sneering way, he says. Xu draws on a saying common on the internet according to which "You may be unable to love them, but please do not harm them."
除了生理上的伤痕，许哲和工作伙伴们还面对着心理上的多维打击。“和猫住”在诞生之初就一直饱受质疑。很多人对他们所做的事情持悲观态度，甚至“爱猫人士”、“爱狗人士”等称谓在网络中也已经变味。许哲引用网络很流行的一句话来表达：“可以不爱，请别伤害。”
"It is a very complicated issue," he says. "Right now it's the concept of pet raising we are changing, and laws are needed to protect small animals. Promoting adoption rather than purchase is also something we devote ourselves to."
“这是很复杂的事，” 他说道。现在我们养宠物的观念变了，也亟需相关立法来保护小动物。同时，我们也致力于推动领养代替购买。”
The most conspicuous entrance of the rescue center is a wall in front of which hangs a large red curtain. In this room everyone who adopts a cat goes through a ceremony akin to a Chinese marriage officiation: reading an oath of care, having a photo taken just as newlyweds would, and being issued a certificate.
在“和猫住”的工作中心，入门处最显眼的就是那面挂着大红色幕布的墙。每位来这里领养猫咪的年轻人，都会经过一系列满满“仪式感”的环节：宣读结缘誓词、像一对新人一样拍摄合照、颁发结缘证件。
图源：封面新闻
Here, 300 yuan ($47) is the minimum charge, the paid adoption including three free vaccine shots. Xu insists on the charge, saying he believes that it helps ensure that anyone wanting to truly care for a cat will be made conscious of the minimum they will need to spend on their companion every month.
许哲介绍说，在中心领养会收取300元的费用，这笔费用中包含了三针宠物疫苗。“这些物品的价值是远超过领养费用的，我们最初是想用这笔钱筛选一些对猫咪不负责的人，想‘空手套白狼’的人”。
All that then remains is, as in the aftermath of a marriage ceremony, to live up to the promise to accompany the cat for a lifetime.
正如婚礼蕴涵的意义一样，领养仪式也代表着履行陪伴猫一生的承诺。
☊点击收听音频☊
编辑：陈月华
记者：张磊
录音：Stephanie Stone
实习生：陈励澄
来源：封面新闻
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