The best motivation to bring a cat home is based on

Compassion

1) Save a cat that is about to be euthanised.

• Call the AVA (http://www.ava.gov.sg/)Claiming of impounded dogs and cats Tel: 6471 9987 / 6471 9996 (You may need to pay for impounding fee, boarding fees and microchipping).
• Call the SPCA (http://www.spca.org.sg/) Tel: 62875355 (Ask for cats that are to be euthanised; these are cats that are assessed by a visiting vet as “not suitable for adoption”. You may have to argue very hard with a “we know what is best for the cat” attitude.)

2) Adopt from shelters for rescued cats and kittens such as

• MettaCats (http://www.mettacats.blogspot.com/)
• Paw Pledge
• Vegan & Meowies
• Fostercats for Adoption
• Cats for Adoption

Adopt the least adoptable cats, such as those with disabilities, those who look “ugly” to most people, those who are “old”.

• Extraordinary cats for extraordinary people

3) Give a home to a community cat. Most of our community cats are abandoned. Community cats in Singapore are in perpetual dangers of being

• Blamed for “hygiene” risk if they are within food-serving areas
• Blamed for scratches on cars if they are in car parks
• Blamed for spread of diseases if they are near child care centres
• Blamed for making noise if they are in HDB estates
• Blamed for “upstairs” defecation that is usually caused by irresponsible owners who let their cats roam freely out of the flats, or irresponsible feeders who lure community cats upstairs to feed. Irresponsible Property Officers of the town council who do not investigate,will assume the “downstairs cats” are responsible and thereby activating the pest controllers to round up the “downstairs” cats, which will be killed without mercy!”
• Blamed for phobia of cats (Ailurophobia)
• Run over by cars
• Abused by psychotic human beings
• Poisoned from drinking drain water that is often sprayed with anti-mosquito-larval chemicals
• Caught in traps,which are loan free of charge by the AVA (at tax payers’ expense), to human beings who live in landed properties who are upset with the intrusion of cats into their “lovely” gardens.

and

WISDOM
Contemplate before bringing a cat home

1) If you are single

• Who will care for your cat when you are on vacation?
• What if you meet a partner who does not like cat?
• What if you get married and have a child and your in-laws are dead-set against keeping your cat?
• What if you fall critically ill?

2) If you are married

• Will you keep the cat when a child is on the way?
• Will you be able to care for a cat, who, like any living being, will fall ill, will be old and will die?

3) If have children

• Are you adopting a cat as a “live” toy? Leaving a cat in the presence of a child unsupervised can give rise to harm on both. A cat is NOT a toy. A good motivation for the addition of a cat to family with children is to cultivate compassion to animals. Will you abandon the cat if anyone in the family develop allergy that most family doctors will readily blame on the cat instead of suggesting ways to reduce allergen-exposure.

4) If you are an expatriate

• Will you bring the cat along to where-ever you will be going? There will be expenses from vet certification, vaccination, air-freight (some airlines include cat in a carrier into the luggage allowance) and quarantine.

5) Ability to afford the cost of caring for a cat that may live up to 20 years.

6) Making the window and door grills “cat-safe” to keep the cat indoors.

7) The patience to wait for a cat to adapt to a new environment, especially one that has a cat or cats or dog/s. Some cats adapt easily. Some cats take a long time to adapt. Sometimes it is easier for a guardian to adapt to a “difficult” cat 🙂

Be a GUARDIAN of a cat that you bring home, NOT just a mere OWNER.

Photo album

Mother-cat: estimated DOB: 19-11-2007

Sophie

Kittens: estimated DOB: 05-10-2008

Bam Bam

Rambo

Sweetie

Tricia

All the 4 kittens were vaccinated on 23-11-2008 at Pet Clinic

Nov 5, 2008

Cat mess: Solve the problem, reverse the ban in HDB flats

MR WEE Eng Leong (“What is the point of having a rule banning cats in HDB flats when enforcement is ineffective?” on Saturday) is right to feel upset over the cat mess caused by irresponsible pet owners. However, his solution – to get the Government to more strictly enforce a ban on cats in HDB flats – isn’t going to get the job done for a host of reasons.

I suspect that sometimes the ban is not so strictly enforced because local authorities who have a heart recognise something that the Government doesn’t: that many of our citizens love cats and the companionship they bring. And how do you ban cats when there is real love involved?

As an animal lover, I often find myself in conversations with all sorts of people about their pets. Even a burly taxi driver can get misty-eyed talking about the cat who greets him when he comes off his late shift.

There is a more practical reason for reversing the ban that you don’t have to be a cat lover to see: “legalise” cat ownership and you allow licensing and microchipping. Licensing means that cat owners can be held responsible for the actions of their pets and fined. Microchipping means that cats can be quickly identified and traced, not just when they leave a mess behind, but also when they are abandoned. And of course, sterilisation of pets has to be required – not just cats but dogs as well.

Let’s try to make this a win-win situation for everyone. And I can offer a quick-fix to Mr Wee in the meantime: simply purchase a bag of mothballs, which is less than a dollar at NTUC FairPrice supermarkets, and sprinkle them in the area around his parents’ flat. Cats hate the smell and will avoid the area. It works. But the ban on cats doesn’t.

Joanna Colodin Hughes (Ms)

The Straits Times
Nov 1, 2008

Unresolved for 2 years

‘What is the point of having a rule banning cats in HDB flats when enforcement is ineffective?’

MR WEE ENG LEONG: ‘My aged parents living in a Housing Board estate in St George’s Lane are at their wits’ end over the nuisance posed by cat poo along the corridor of their unit. Their complaints to the Housing Board branch office have come to naught. The HDB tells them to be patient and that action is being taken. But how patient are they supposed to be? The problem has remained unresolved for two years now. How long are my parents to live with the foul smell, day in day out, because of inconsiderate neighbours who let loose their cats? What is the point of having a rule banning cats in HDB flats when enforcement is ineffective? It makes a mockery of the rule.’

This tabby girl (sterilised) is still sleeping under cars

This ginger-boy now sleeps on a comfortable king-size bed!

However we as human beings have the ability to make a choice. To be passive and leave things to fate, karma or an almighty, or to take an active role in making the environment for a community cat as safe as possible?

This include sterilising the cats, educate feeders on responsible feeding, show public affection for the community cats, educate children on how to approach a cat safely, volunteer with one’s town council to help look into any complaint about cats, support the catwelfare society by becoming a member, form a network with other residents concerned about the welfare of community cats, write to the press to express support for TnRm, appeal for removal of the ban on cats in HBD flats, and to appeal to the government to restore the “stray cat rehabilitation scheme” so that more community cats can be sterilised as fast as possible. Tolerance and even appreciation of community cats definitely come when there are less cats after TnRm kicks in. Look out for owners of cats and appeal to them to be responsible by keeping their cats indoor and getting them sterilised.

So there are a lot that one can do to change “fate”. Their future is dependent on how much we want to do for them NOW.

Nov 1, 2008

Unresolved for 2 years

‘What is the point of having a rule banning cats in HDB flats when enforcement is ineffective?’

MR WEE ENG LEONG: ‘My aged parents living in a Housing Board estate in St George’s Lane are at their wits’ end over the nuisance posed by cat poo along the corridor of their unit. Their complaints to the Housing Board branch office have come to naught. The HDB tells them to be patient and that action is being taken. But how patient are they supposed to be? The problem has remained unresolved for two years now. How long are my parents to live with the foul smell, day in day out, because of inconsiderate neighbours who let loose their cats? What is the point of having a rule banning cats in HDB flats when enforcement is ineffective? It makes a mockery of the rule.’

This shows that the BAN is INEFFECTIVE.

Please take advantage of this letter and write in to request for a removal of the BAN and replace it with regulations including FINING such irresponsible cat owners.!

Please include your full name (as in IC), your address and a telephone contact number. For women, please indicate Miss, Mrs or Ms. Send your letters via e-mail: stforum@sph.com.sg or Fax (65) 6319-8289