She said the problem could be traced back to former president Jiang Zemin for the crackdown.
“He didn’t like dogs so he decided to have dogs killed. But there was a bad reaction from the foreign media and they were pressured to stop.
“Now they have stopped killing dogs but the new victims are cats. It is all connected to the Olympics.”
Cats are regularly dumped on her doorstep late at night by owners frightened by the government campaign.
“The situation is very bad now,” said Ms Hu. “When women get pregnant, the doctor will ask them if they have a cat in the house.
“If they reply Yes, they tell them, ‘You must get rid of it, it will be bad for the baby’.
“I keep all the cats in my house and 100 of them sleep in my bedroom at night. I am too frightened to let them out. If they go outside, they will be taken away and killed.
“The government is not telling people the truth. Look at me. I live with them 24 hours a day, seven days a week and I am very healthy.”
The round-up has been particularly intense in areas around Olympic venues and in streets and alleys surrounding five-star hotels where guests will stay during the summer games.
Despite the health warnings, the round-up of cats has led to a surge in the number of restaurants in the capital serving cat meat, according to Ms Hu.
She said hundreds of cats were also being sent to Guangzhou in southern China, an area infamous for restaurants that serve meat from cats and dogs and exotic animals such as snakes and tigers.
It was in July last year that district officials were instructed to begin an intense round-up of cats as part of Beijing’s pre-Olympics clean-up. Now notices have been put up urging residents to hand in cats.
