Apparently in the end, the cats were not surprised since none were captured.

"We did not find any civet cats in the market or in restaurants during our inspection," a police spokesman said. "The only civet farm has been quarantined and we haven't decided how to deal with the animals," the spokesman was quoted by Xinhua news agency.
...
Civet cats are now strictly monitored across China as forestry departments in Hainan, Hebei and Liaoning provinces began to take emergency measures to collect and quarantine the wild animals.

Surprise raids to stall Sars cats