200 cats destined for the dinner table rescued from the slaughterhouse and given loving homes

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WARNING: HARMFUL CONTENT – Thanks to the charity Soi Dog, which successfully fought to end the cat and dog meat trade in Thailand, the animals have been moved to a shelter

Lucky cat arrives in Thailand (

Image: Soi Dog Foundation / FB)

Once destined for the dinner table, these are the cats rescued from a brutal slaughterhouse and now living in loving homes.

Malnourished and dehydrated after days without food or water, the traumatized animals were packed into tiny cages to be soon killed.

They were among 197 found after police raided the largest warehouse in Dong Thap province, southern Vietnam, earlier this year.

But thanks to the charity Soi Dog, which successfully fought to end the cat and dog meat trade in Thailand in 2014, the animals were moved to a shelter and given medical treatment.

The rescue began when the group's international advocacy director, Rahul Sehgal, learned that four tonnes of frozen cat meat – 2,000 animals – had been seized by police in Vietnam.

Nada next to the cats slaughtered for their meat in Hanoi (

Picture:

Adam Gerard/Daily Mirror)

This slaughterhouse, equipped with industrial machinery, has been killing up to 500 cats a day for 10 years.

Rahul said, "We'll never know exactly what the cats went through, but their condition gave us devastating insight.

"Many were injured after being forced into crates. The scenes were heartbreaking."

Resident Le Bich Tram has turned her home into a hospital for nearly 200 cats. Veterinarians worked around the clock administering fluids, bandaging wounds and bottle feeding the kittens.

Rahul said, “When the cats settled down, they started to relax. Cats that had once hissed at the sight of humans were now approaching for affection. »