Photo: Kingdomoftigers and Kitty Cat Cafe
Of all the celebrity cats, Bangkok’s fairest and chillest one of all is Asoke Cat. Although he’s retired from his throne beneath the Asoke BTS platform, he hasn’t forgotten where he came from and is still the same friendly A.C. we remember.
We know that because we caught up with Asoke Cat in person (us) Sunday at his charity event “Kitty Cat & the Gang” at Kitty Cat Cafe on Lat Prao Road, a place for cat ladies and gentlemen to sip tea and pamper kitties.
Not that it was easy. Due to the high demand and welfare of Asoke Cat, guests were told to take a queue card and waited outside the air-conditioned abode.
“This is my first time seeing Asoke. He’s even more playful and cuter than photos,” May, a woman who was on date with her boyfriend said.
Ten fans at a time were let in to meet Asoke Cat, and they could stay for only 10 minutes. For his part, Asoke didn’t seem to mind. After all, he used to stretch out and close his eyes no matter how many commuter feet rushed past his furry body. When our turn came, he was busy climbing the cat condo and running around the room.
Our cat toy, although, seemed to do the trick, as Asoke stopped for a pet and grabbed the pink furry teaser.
The people who came to the fan meeting knew Asoke Cat very well, while some of them never met the cat before and recently joined after his internet fame phase.
But has Asoke cat adjusted to his new home? After losing a fight with another cat at his former street home, cat lady Nutch Prasopsin stepped up to take Asoke Cat’s battered body to the vet for treatment.
“He was able to adjust to his new home the night I took him in. He used the litter box, and he seemed to know where the food was,” Nutch said. “He was very nice and friendly to my other cats as they seemed to welcome him, so I decided to adopt Asoke.”
Although taking selfies with Asoke Cat might be the main reason people stopped by, the objective of the event was outside the comfortable air-conditioning – seeking homes for kittens of the Homeless Cat Helper Club.
“We just wanted to help out the homeless cats,” Khun Puk, the owner of the cafe and host of the event said. “Our cafe has adopted many cats and made sure they had a nice home, but we cannot help all of them on our own. When people knew it was a charity event, they all wanted to help out. Nutch brought Asoke Cat here to meet people.”
Although pets have become more popular in Thailand, many seek to buy kennel farmed animals from places like Chatuchak instead of adopting one of the hundreds of thousands of strays living in the streets.
Few organizations exist to help these animals, apart from the HCHC and Pet Animal Welfare Society. (PAWS)
To give support visitors could buy merchandise, donate money or adopt one of the kitties at the event.
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The Asoke Cat phenomenon has raised helped awareness of the homeless animal issues in society, and the event encouraged people to help out the animals. For more information about the Homeless Cat Helper Club visit their website.
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