Some cats living around our school are getting the attention of students. Students pay attention to the cats on campus, and they take care of the cats with affection. A manager of a social media site called “College Student Sympathy” even selected all the colleges’ feline mascots, and the cat of E-Square was chosen as our school’s mascot. Meanwhile, there is one student who is especially devoted to protecting the cats. Jeon Chae-ah collected money from students who wanted to help the cats under the nickname “Cat Guardian” and provided them with beneficial treatment and neutralization surgery by adding her own money. The Pharos wanted to talk to her about what she does and what many students want to know about her.

Please introduce yourself

 Hello, I’m Jeon Chae-ah of the Class of 2017 in the Department of Korean Language and Literature. Currently, I am working in the Everytime community under the name of “Cat Guardian.”

Is there a reason why you help cats in the school?

 I used to like animals as well as cats. Then, in the summer of 2017, I happened to meet a pregnant mother cat. I felt so bad because the mother cat was hungry and skinny. That’s how I started to look after the mother cat. As I took care of the babies of this mother cat, I became interested in the other cats on campus.

Please explain what you usually do. In addition, how many cats are you taking care of at the school?

 I usually give food and water to the cats. I brush the cats, wash the cats’ faces, and clean the cats’ ears to keep them clean. Next, I monitor and check the health of the cats. Occasionally, I give nutritional supplements or medicine to the cats to keep them healthy. I also take sick cats to the hospital for treatment, and I often take cats to the hospital for vaccinations. In addition to providing treatment, the cats are also prevented from contracting diseases by having neutralization surgery. Now, I am officially taking care of the E-Square cat, its four kittens, and one dormitory cat. Therefore, I am taking care of six cats.

Do you have any difficulty paying for services that are not covered by donations?

 In fact, money is an important part of taking care of cats on the street. Besides eating expenses, if a cat is to be hospitalized or suffers from skin problems, the amount of money that I have to spend on the cat can increase. I have tothink about whether I can pay all the costs with my own money before I spend money on a cat. I thought it was possible to take care of the cats with just my money, so I started taking care of the cats on campus. Anyway, in order to save some money, I look for opportunities to buy the cats’ snacks and food more cheaply. I also buy discount food bundles for the cats.

Have you ever felt rewarded working as a “Cat Guardian”?

 It is most rewarding when the cats come close to me. When the cats who are sensitive and wary at first cry out and greet me, I feel the worth of it.

Are you acting as a “Cat Guardian” alone? If you’re doing it alone, do you have any plans to recruit members or ask for help?

 I’m doing it alone for now. Thankfully, some students said they are willing to help me through Everytime, but I don’t have plans to officially recruit now. I think I’ll be recruiting people after the first semester or summer of next year, when I will graduate.

Is there any part of being a Cat Guardian that has been difficult or limiting?

 Actually, I’ve never had a hard time because of the cats. All the hard work was due to people. I understand people who don’t like cats, but that doesn’t justify animal abuse. There were people who put cigarette butts or chocolate milk into the cats’ bowls because they didn’t like them. They even asked me to remove their house.

Moreover, I used to receive messages which blamed me for my actions until I revealed my real name.

What do you want to say to students who are interested in raising cats or adopting them?

 Cats, no matter how old they are, only have the intelligence of a three-year-old person. If they live a long time like 20 years, it’s like raising a three-year-old kid who doesn’t talk for 20 years. I’m happy now while raising the cats, but I have many things that are hard to do. Therefore, I’d like to ask people to take that into consideration and adopt a cat.There are so many animals in the world that are abandoned for one reason or another. Futhermore, normal pet shops bring kittens from so-called “factories” where animals are deliberately impregnated to give birth and have babies until they die. Even now, despite the large number of cats at shelters looking for homes, many mother cats are suffering because of the demand. Consequently, I hope you will adopt a kitten instead of buying one.

 Taking care of a cat is not easy. However, Jeon Chae-ah is working hard to do just that for many of the cats on campus. She works to help the cats with a good heart, but sometimes she has doubts and suffers from misunderstandings. The Pharos hopes that her intentions will be conveyed to those who misunderstand her through this article.

Finally, we want many students to know about the hard work that goes into caring for our school’s cats.

                                          Management Editor CHOI SOYEON clara3003@naver.com
                                                               71st Reporter KIM JIN coo0714@naver.com