During the air pollution red alert, the Beijing Commission of Education ordered all kindergartens, primary schools and middle schools to suspend classes.

In Beijing, sending a child to kindergarten costs as much as $660 a month, compared with $102 a month for the country's top college.

The killing of the six stray cats at the kindergarten - where staff at a Beijing cigarette factory leave their children - is the most striking illustration of the city-wide fear of cats.