The story of Ding Shiyin and 120 stray cats

Author: Reading Pictures Era
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: In recent years, some books have featured cats and dogs that have moved people to tears. First there was Koro, and later there was Da Wulang. They are all gentle, loyal, and adorable, giving us another chance to re-examine our beloved pets. In this emotionally and era, the close and harmonious relationship between humans and animals requires mutual care. In this story, there are no overly sentimental words or extraordinary plots—only the simple and sincere emotions between an old man and his cat. Elder Ding Shiying tells his story of rescuing stray cats in a modest, unpretentious manner—24, Longtoujing Street, Beijing, a small courtyard facing west, an elderly man in his sixties, a group of lovely stray cats, a bond between man and cat, and the story of an ordinary person.
Over the past few winters, I haven’t caught a cold. An elderly colleague once said, "Elder Ding’s health is even better than it was 20 years ago!" I replied, "I owe it to the cats." In the past, I used to catch a cold every year, even developing bronchitis. But after spending long periods outside picking fish guts, especially in the cold northwest wind, for three or four hours a day, I gradually built up my immunity. Neither bronchitis nor colds affected me anymore. This was all forced discipline—without persistence and long-term effort, it wouldn’t have worked. Fortunately, I toughened up, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to take care of these cats.
As everyone knows, raising cats in a courtyard house is not as easy to manage as in an apartment building. In an apartment, as long as you close the door, even the most mischievous cat can’t escape. But in a courtyard house, it’s much harder. Cats often run away. Many stray cats, accustomed to freedom, get restless after staying in the courtyard for a couple of days and want to escape. I had to keep them in cages for a few days to tame them and curb their wildness. But some still ran off, and their trick was to climb onto rooftops or trees. As the fairy tale goes, cats were originally the teachers of tigers, teaching them all their skills except for one—climbing. That’s why cats managed to survive. Once these cats got onto a rooftop, no matter how much I coaxed them, they wouldn’t come down. There was no other choice but to climb up myself to catch them.
You can imagine how difficult it was—on the rooftop, these rascals had the advantage, darting around and fighting me like guerrillas. At 70, how could I compete with them? So I had to use my wits. One day, the blind cat, Blind Blind, because it was afraid of people, somehow ran off the roof. I searched for two days but couldn’t find it. Then one day, I went to the back courtyard and spotted it on the roof. It hadn’t eaten for days, and its eyes were bleeding. I called it, but it wouldn’t come down, so I climbed up and slowly approached it. When I got close enough, afraid it would panic and run, I lay down on the roof and pretended to leave, remaining silent. I knew it couldn’t see me and would follow that path, allowing me to grab it. But somehow, it knew I was there and avoided me, circling around instead.
I then devised another plan. It loved eating fresh carp gills. In the past, when I boiled the gills in water, it would always snack on a few. It was familiar with the sound of water swirling around the gills. So I quickly asked a cat friend to buy me some carp from the market and dig out the gills. I went onto the roof with a small bucket, put the gills in it, filled it with water, and swirled it gently. As I moved closer to Blind Blind, I kept swirling the bucket. It couldn’t hear my footsteps but was drawn to the sound of the gills. When I was close enough, I suddenly scooped it up! After catching it, I carried it down the roof.
To catch the cats, I often climbed onto rooftops, and it paid off. Of course, I also took measures for the ones who loved climbing. For example, I had to tie Pingping with a rope.
Elder Ding Shiying’s story of rescuing stray cats has spread far and wide. Elder Ding Shiying, who never married, worked at the Beijing Normal University archives before retiring. After the Cultural Revolution, she began rescuing and adopting stray cats, with over 100 cats to date. This book fully tells the life story of Elder Ding Shiying and her touching experiences of rescuing stray cats. The language is light and simple, the photos clear and abundant, showcasing her ordinary yet moving life.