IMAGINE LIVING in a concrete box. The walls are covered with cold tiles and there are bars on the only window. It would not make for a happy home and you would probably spend most of your time sulking miserably in the corner. This is what it used to be like for cats at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Wan Chai - until Jill Cheshire came along.
Ms Cheshire has always loved animals. She looks after two cats, six dogs and four hamsters, and would look after more if time and space permitted. An architect by training, she came to Hong Kong 10 years ago and within a year had set up her own practice. She has worked on multi-million dollar projects for high-profile clients, but her real passion is designing living spaces for animals.
'I read an article in the SPCA magazine Paw Print saying that they planned to re-do their Kowloon centre and were asking for people to help,' says Ms Cheshire.
Her love of animals, combined with her architectural know-how, made her the ideal person to help, and what started out as a small, one-off job soon escalated into a considerable chunk of her working life. She is now retained by the SPCA as a consultant.
'Cats are naturally curious creatures. They like to know what is going on around them,' she says.
So she designed a cattery that would appeal to cats - and humans. The Wan Chai cattery, which was completed in August 2000, has 15 compartments and a giant playroom. Each compartment offers a cat five changes of level. And by using tempered glass, the cats' visibility is further increased. The playroom gives the cats space to run around in and is even fitted with a television because, Ms Cheshire says, cats love to watch the box.