About us

The Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre (KAT Centre) was first conceived after Jan Salter, the founder of KAT, went to visit ’Help in Suffering’ (HIS) in Jaipur, India. Impressed with the way HIS had managed the difficult dog problem in Jaipur by implementing Animal Birth Control and Anti-rabies programmes, creating a rabies free dog friendly city, Jan came back to Nepal convinced that what had been achieved in Jaipur could also be done in Kathmandu. The foundation was registered as non-profit, charitable animal welfare organisation in June 2003 and was formally opened on 9th May 2004.

Jan Salter, Founder
Originally from the UK, Jan now feels that Nepal is her second home and lives for much of the time in Kathmandu with a family of rescued cats and dogs. Since 1975 she has been painting Nepali people and has had many exhibitions of her portrait series ‘Faces of Nepal’. In 1997 she was decorated with the ’Gorkha Dakshin Bahu’ by the then Nepalese king, Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev. She has worked with the organisation ’Maiti Nepal’ and has produced a series of paintings on the subject of girl trafficking. She is also a support member for organisations concerned with homeless women and mentally disturbed people. In 2004 she started the KAT centre and is the chief motivator in all its activities.

Dr Charlotte Uhlenbroek, Patron and BBC Presenter
"I grew up in Kathmandu and as a child witnessed the horrific suffering when the stray dogs were being poisoned. It was like a scene from hell. I promised myself that when I was older I would return and try to do something about it. I met Jan Salter in 2003, a well-known artist in Kathmandu, who has rescued a great many stray dogs single-handedly, and we agreed then and there to find a proper solution to the problem - and so KAT came into existence. I am completely committed to this project and feel tremendously optimistic; it’s a finite problem and we know what the solution is. All we need is your help."