Copyright scmp
A blogger’s shocking allegation that stray cats were being drained of their blood for sale to pet hospitals has sparked outrage and condemnation online. It was revealed that a single cat could be drained of four bags of blood, generating a profit of 2,400 yuan (US$340). The information was contained in a social media post on October 24, when a woman blogger in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, southern China, claimed that her cat had fallen ill and required a blood transfusion. After the pet hospital recommended a blood bank, she assumed that the process would be as regulated and safe as human blood transfusions. She then paid 800 yuan for a bag of cat blood, which was delivered directly to the hospital. The woman also said that the “blood bank” sold dog blood, though the prices were not disclosed. Cats typically have three blood types, A, B and the rare AB. Type A or B cats must receive blood from a donor with the same type, or they risk a fatal reaction. Type AB cats ideally require AB blood but can receive Type A if AB is unavailable. For legal blood donations, the donor cat is typically required to stay at the clinic for several hours for testing, weighing and health checks. They are usually discharged three to five hours after the procedure once they have fully recovered from sedation. In this case, after the pet hospital administered the transfusion, the cat quickly regained consciousness. However, several hours later, its condition deteriorated and it developed a high fever. During emergency treatment, the veterinarian carried out tests and concluded that the cat was likely suffering from a bacterial infection, possibly caused by contaminated donor blood. Despite their efforts, the cat eventually died. Later, the woman learned from an industry insider that the blood may have come from a well-established grey market profit chain. “A cat can yield up to 10ml of blood per kilogram. However, these ‘blood banks’ acquire stray cats for just a few dozen yuan each, but they can draw three to four bags of blood from a single cat,” she wrote in the post. “Each bag sells for 800 yuan, meaning one cat can generate at least 2,400 yuan in profit,” she added. The pet owner even posted a video exposing the blood extraction process, claiming that to extract the last drop of blood, workers would hang the cat upside down, ensuring every bit of blood drained from its body. On October 28, the local Forestry and Landscaping Bureau responded that an investigation was under way. China has no administrative regulations or mandatory national standards regarding pet blood transfusions. Nor are there clear penalties for such practices. The revelations ignited a firestorm of outrage on mainland social media. One online observer said: “I really cannot bear to see these poor furry babies suffer. They pushed a kitten to death, but these little ones had survived countless harsh winters and carefully nurtured themselves into plump health.” “This is just too cruel. People who do things like this deserve the worst,” said another. A third person said: “They will face karma. We have been calling for better protection for so long, yet there is still no effective policy. It feels so powerless.”
