A steak restaurant in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City is facing a public backlash and a boycott after poisoning more than 20 feral cats living around Apartment Building 151 on Dong Khoi Street, local media reported.

Over the past few days, social media users have called for a boycott on the restaurant located on the second floor of the apartment block for its inhumane action.

They are using hashtags #taychay or #boycott to shun the restaurant.

A woman residing in the apartment building recalled that many residents were constantly discovering the bodies of poisoned feral cats over the past week due to a disgusting smell.

The death toll of poisoned cats reached over 20.

In the past, countless rats lived in the area, but since feral cats appeared, they have gone.

Most of the dwellers there did not hate these cats and fed them daily. Many were very angry and upset to see the cats die in droves, the woman said.

On May 28, the restaurant officially owned up to the cruel action on its Facebook page, explaining that fatigue and pressure plunged it into such a negative and foolish treatment, according to local media.

“We admitted that we treated the cats badly. There are no words to defend this action, so we deserve to be criticized strongly," the restaurant said in a post.

“We hope to have an opportunity to fix the mistake.

“To make up for the mistake, the restaurant pledges to make a donation to the fund of the animal rescue center in the city, enabling other feral cats to have better habitats and living conditions.”

Providing explanations, the restaurant said that it had repeatedly asked a woman who often fed these felines to stop giving food to them or feed them in another place instead of at the foot of the staircase to keep the building clean. 

The woman fed them, but did not clean up cat poop. Instead, all of its employees and the managers of the two floors had to do it, the restaurant claimed.

She once suggested buying sand and chipping in money to help clean the cat poop, but the restaurant was yet to receive any support.

Meanwhile, the management board of the apartment building held many meetings to find ways to move these cats, but the problem remained unsolved. 

“I contacted some disinfection service providers, but none of them agreed to do the job," the owner of the restaurant wrote on the page.

"Therefore, my employees and I have taken turns cleaning up their poop over the past few months.

“I have never taken care of pets or animals, so I did not really know how to seek animal rescue groups for help."

Business at the restaurant has been sluggish due to the boycott.

Though the restaurant is still open, no guests visit it.

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