Quy is a trader at Da Kao Market, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. She is called “Ms. Quy Wild Cat” by other traders.

Quy and her husband moved from the north to Saigon in 1954. After a period of time, they divorced. Quy did not marry again to bring up her daughter, who then got married and now lives in the US. The lonely woman has since then lived with dogs and cats.

Quy sells fish sauce, vinegar, and soy sauce within three hours in the morning.

She usually closes her stall at 10 am and goes to food stalls in the market to collect shrimp heads to feed her cats.

She always leaves part of her lunch for wild cats in the market. "Every day I just eat one rice meal. If I am hungry at night, I will cook instant noodles. I only buy rice and food for cats," she said.

By noon, feral cats in Da Kao markets come to Quy’s stall to be fed. Quy has bred wild cats for nearly 50 years.

Respecting her love for wild cats, many people give her food to feed cats.

After collecting enough shrimp heads, rice, and fish, Quy walks from the market to her home to feed the cats.

She usually gets up at 5am to clean the house and feed cats and then go to the market. One day a month, she pushes a trolley to Ba Chieu market to buy goods.

Quy’s old house is deep in an alley. The most precious thing is an old TV and an electric fan. But her biggest asset is about 50 abandoned cats.

She cannot remember how many cats she has adopted but at present she has about 50 cats. Each cat has a name and she remembers clearly about their circumstances. The oldest cat has been living with Quy for nearly 20 years.

Every day Quy spends about VND100,000 ($5) to buy food for the cats while she can earn several tens of thousands VND a day.

"Many people give me food or sometimes money for my cats. Sometimes my daughter transfers money to me. I use the money to buy food for the cats," she said.