A shelter for stray cats in Beijing is providing solace for young people who are lonely and under pressure.

Of all the places stray cats can live in Beijing, perhaps none provokes more emotion or provides greater companionship than an underground facility known to devotees as the "Cat Shed".

Dozens of sparkling eyes illuminate a dark basement located between the Northwest Second and Third Ring Roads near a cluster of university campuses in Haidian district. Sometimes, the cats stare at people and occasionally they search for food. Since the facility was established in 2012, some 150 cats have lived there.

After walking down dozens of winding steps, visitors see an open space illuminated by several lights, where cat food is scattered around. On the other side, an intensive care area is dominated by cat boxes and mats. Many of the cats require treatment for common complaints such as colds, feline viral rhinotracheitis (a respiratory infection) and inflammation of the mouth.

More than 100 volunteers attend to the strays. Many claim that they gain greater benefit from the interaction than the cats, because the animals offer not just companionship, but also a kind of healing.

Thanks to a process known as "trap, neuter and return", some strays have been adopted by families, but about 80 still live at the shed, whose location is closely guarded by volunteers.

Russian blues, Chinese garden, British shorthairs and plain old ginger cats are spread across the shed's 100 square meters. They jump and play on toy towers or rest on cotton blankets on iron-framed beds. Occasionally, their attention is attracted by fiber fetch balls.

Change of mood

The "housekeeper" is Yin Yi, a doctoral candidate at the Central Iron and Steel Research Institute in Beijing.

When the 29-year-old arrived in the capital in late 2015, he faced huge pressure from his studies and personal relationships, while the alien environment exacerbated his feeling of loneliness.

After gaining a master's from a university in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Yin relocated to pursue a doctorate in material sciences. Accustomed to having friends around, he was not used to a solitary life, especially working alone and spending up to 10 hours in a lab most days.

"I was a little depressed for quite a while at that time," he said.

To improve his mood, the Jilin province native decided to contact animal bases, looking for opportunities to care for stray cats.

Yin had owned cats as pets since early childhood, so he was delighted in March 2016 when he heard that a stray cat basement near his campus was looking for volunteers. He contacted Wu Xinhua, who organizes activities at the Cat Shed, and was soon surrounded by furry friends.

As he needed to get to his lab at about 8:30 am every day, Yin got up early to make time to help clean the shed and feed the cats. He often spent entire weekends in the basement, quickly becoming known as the volunteer who paid the most visits.

Rarely interacting with people during the day, Yin felt fulfilled at the cat shelter, so he set up a social media account to attract more volunteers.

Over a period of about six months, his mood improved and he became extremely popular with the other volunteers.

In the following 18 months, he completed all the experiments required for his thesis and was offered a job. After graduation, he will become a researcher at an academy affiliated with the Central Iron and Steel Research Institute.

His favorite moment is when he dishes out food and a dozen strays gather round, with several rubbing against his feet. When he graduates, Yin plans to house three strays in his apartment.

'Cute response'

Many studies conducted in China and the United States show that more than half the people who crave the company of cats are searching for companionship.

According to a report released by the Tencent Research Institute in February last year, the number of "cat sniffers"-people who obsessively cuddle their felines-in China reached 50 million in 2017.

It added that as cats look a lot like babies, they can easily trigger a protective feeling in their owners; a phenomenon known as the "cute response".

Yu Dian, the report's lead researcher, said: "It's the main reason cats can make people feel less stressed. They usually require little time and effort from their owners, while providing young people with the stable companionship and comfort that largely satisfies their emotional needs."

She added that caring for cats can prompt a nurturing instinct in owners, stimulating the release of dopamine (a chemical messenger that promotes feelings of pleasure), and the positive feedback boosts mutual affection, especially if the owner is single.

Han Yanni said her cat, Seventh Day, relieved the feelings of loneliness and pressure in her early days at work that prompted anxiety and frequent insomnia.

The 26-year-old financial worker, who became interested in the animals during graduate school, said her cat's name refers to the seventh day of the 11th lunar month in 2016 (Nov 6, that year) which was when she got her American Shorthair.

"I am not so lonely when Seventh Day is around, and my room always looks different when she plays there. It's sweet that she is always around. Taking care of her helped me gradually learn how to give love," she said, adding that caring for the cat is good practice for raising a baby.

After graduating from the University of International Business and Economics in 2016, she decided to stay in Beijing. She seldom returns to Zhongwei, her hometown in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

When Han's mother visits, she sometimes complains that her daughter talks to Seventh Day more than her.

Positive energy

According to a paper published in the Journal of the Hebei Youth Administrative Cadres College in September last year, the reason young Chinese are keen to become cat owners is closely related to the fact that they feel more energetic and positive when the animals are around.

The study showed that cuddling cats can reduce negative emotions, such as anxiety and irritation, while generating a more active, healthier mental state.

Moreover, some cat behavior is in line with young people's pursuit of their own values, as the animals cause no interruptions and no trouble, according to the paper. It included data from a survey of 5 million young Chinese who work outside of their hometowns-57.9 percent said they lack emotional trust, while 41. 9 percent complained of a lack of concern and love.

Dai Wenchao, a widely acclaimed financial blogger, recently wrote an article in which he claimed that many young Chinese believe that cats have emotional areas people cannot access or understand. Therefore, when the animals occasionally exhibit unexpected behavior, it triggers a strong response in humans, which is an extension of their regular emotions.

A new life

The animals at the Cat Shed definitely reflect some of the emotions felt by Huang Xiaoxiao (not her real name), who said that she only feels really relaxed at school, her family home and the underground facility.

The only child said she rarely sees her parents, because they are almost always at work or undertaking the two-hour round trip to their jobs in northwest Beijing. Privacy is also an issue because the family lives in a traditional alley, so most of their public space is shared with other people.

In September last year, Huang was diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder, which led her to quit school a short time later.

However, regular visits to the Cat Shed and caring for the animals has provided a new life for Huang, who has started to reconnect with society and make friends with her peers. Three months ago, she returned to high school.

The 15-year-old has loved looking after stray cats since early childhood, and she also helped to care for her aunt's ginger cat for more than 10 years.

Having learned about the many strays at the shelter, she decided to become a volunteer and help care for the animals.

"The place seems like heaven to me because so many cats live there. I often felt sorry for stray cats when I saw them on the road. Now, I can do something for them," she said.

During an evening walk in her neighborhood two years ago, Huang came across a black kitten with a broken leg. She looked after the cat until it was fully recovered and adopted by a local family.

Sun Quanhui, a scientist with the international NGO World Animal Protection, said many young cat lovers are "empty nest youths"-unmarried people who live alone in big cities. "This group is one of the beneficiaries-the love of cats has cured their problems," he said.

A lack of emotional trust, and relatively poor living conditions in big cities can intensify feelings of loneliness, and looking after cats can fill an emotional need, he added.

"The cats fill a spiritual gap, offering some kind of compensation for the problems these young people encounter in life," Sun said.