Our Services
ValamBecause a bowl that comes every day changes everything
In Tamil, Valam means abundance. It is not a word that comes easily to an animal who has spent years scavenging, uncertain, hungry. But there is a moment — somewhere between the third meal and the thirtieth — when a street dog stops flinching at the approach of a human hand and simply waits. That moment is what Valam is for. Over 2,200 meals prepared and served every single day, without exception, without compromise.
The meal they stopped doubting
Every morning and every evening, our kitchen fires up the traditional wood-fired stove and the same rhythm begins: meals prepared, portions measured, bowls filled. It has happened twice daily, seven days a week, without exception — and a feeding register kept for every single animal ensures that not one resident is missed or forgotten.
A dog who arrived at the shelter terrified, ribs showing, does not trust a hand on day one. But the bowl keeps coming. Week after week. The hand becomes familiar. The timing becomes something she counts on. What began as food becomes something much closer to the knowledge that she is held.
Daily by the numbers
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In-house dogs, fed twice daily
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In-house cats, fed twice daily
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Post-surgery dogs on recovery diets
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Individual meals served every day
Not every animal needs the same meal. For those who are recovering, elderly or carrying the weight of a difficult history, food itself becomes part of the treatment. Our feeding team works closely with veterinary professionals to make sure the most vulnerable animals get exactly what their bodies need:
- •Special diets — some animals are placed on protein-only diets based on their medical condition and recovery requirements
- •Recovery broths — fresh broths prepared for animals suffering from illness or injury, as well as those recovering from surgery, to encourage hydration, improve appetite and support healing
- •ABC recovery meals — dogs admitted for Animal Birth Control surgery receive rice and protein-based meals to support recovery and help them regain strength before returning to their home territories
The quiet ones who always show up first
A cat does not bark for its breakfast. It simply appears — at the door, in the corridor, at the exact spot where the bowl usually lands. Our 135 in-house cats have their own way of marking feeding time: a tail held high, a slow blink, the sudden materialisation of a body that was nowhere a moment ago. Less theatre than the dogs. No less certain.
Twice a day, the caregivers move through the cat areas with wet and dry food, and the atmosphere shifts. Some cats weave between ankles. Others hold back and watch, approaching only once the human has stepped away. Every one of them is known — their preferences, their moods, the ones who need coaxing and the ones who need space. That knowing is not incidental to the feeding. It is the feeding. To fill a bowl for an animal that trusts you is one of the quietest, most complete feelings in this work.
Beyond the shelter walls, that same care travels across the city through a network of neighbourhood caregivers who look after 200+ community cats. Dry food and wet food are sent out regularly to these feeders — people who have made a particular lane, a particular colony of cats, their own quiet responsibility. They do more than feed. They watch. They notice. When a cat goes missing for a day or comes in with a wound, they are the ones who call us first.
- •135 in-house cats fed twice daily — wet and dry food, with individual attention to medical and dietary needs
- •200+ community cats receiving dry and wet food through neighbourhood caregivers across Chennai
Where the street meets someone who shows up
Valam does not stop at the shelter gate. Hundreds of animals in Chennai have no permanent home and never will — but that does not mean they are beyond care. Our community feeding network reaches them where they are, through the people already quietly looking out for them.
Dry food goes out in bulk to dedicated feeders across the city — neighbours, caregivers, people who have made a corner of a street their personal responsibility. They are not just feeding dogs and cats. They are the first to notice when an animal is limping, when a cat has not come for two days, when something is wrong. Our rescue team depends on that network to know where to go.
- •500+ community dogs supported through our feeding network, fed twice daily
- •Community feeders act as first responders — spotting injured or sick animals and alerting our rescue team
Inside the shelter, wet food is not a luxury — it is a daily necessity. Elderly cats, kittens, animals on recovery protocols and those with medical conditions depend on it. It is consumed faster than almost anything else we stock. If you want to do something direct and immediate, purchasing wet food packets and having them delivered to the shelter is one of the most practical ways to help.
To ensure we continue to provide this annadhanam to dogs and cats in need on a regular basis, we need your help. Every donation toward Valam keeps a bowl full — in the shelter, and on the street.