by Sarah Hartwell
This article was written after a period spent in Kuantan, Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur and Penang in Malaysia and in Singapore City. My husband was living and teaching in Kuantan, giving us a number of local contacts who contributed information. The remainder of this article is based on my own personal observations.
The island of Singapore was originally known as Temasek ("Sea Town"). It was renamed Singapura ("Lion City") when a visiting Sumatran Prince glimpsed what he thought was a lion (probably a tiger) in 1299. It did not achieve great prominence until the 1800s when Sir Stamford Raffles arrived. Singapore underwent a period of intense economic growth and was declared a freeport. Today it is one of the busiest ports in the world and attracts many tourists.
In the minds of cat enthusiasts, Singapore is associated with the Singapura cat rather than the lion. However, it is probably easier to find a lion on Singapore than to find a Singapura. Like that Sumatran Prince, I glimpsed cats, though they were neither lions nor Singapuras!
The island has a history of feline mascots. Singa, a rather jolly little lion, is mascot of the annual Courtesy Campaign and was introduced in 1979. This event brings Singaporeans together in an ongoing drive to improve everyday courtesies and make Singapore is a welcoming place. A hard-hatted Singa appears on roadworks signs apologising for the inconvenience while a car-driving Singa urges motorists to drive carefully.
The old mascot of Singapore is the Merlion; the lion-headed fish whose statue guards the rivermouth at Merlion Park. It is also the Singapore Tourist Promotional Board emblem and acts as a seal of approval on reputable stores. "Kucinta, the Love Cat of Singapore", was introduced during 1991 as part of a tourist promotional campaign worldwide. "Kucinta", better known as the Singapura, is known on the island as the Singapore River Cat, or less attractively as the Drain Cat since cats live in the huge, open monsoon drains during the drier seasons. Whether Kucinta will succeed the long-established Merlion mascot remains to be seen and many Singaporeans seem bemused by the use of the humble cat, rather than the majestic lion, as a promotional emblem.
Statues of Kucinta will soon be seen around the banks of the river where the cat supposedly originated. However, although I saw numerous nervous cats of Oriental or Bobtail type, I found no Singapuras - somewhat disappointing since tourist leaflet claimed that they could be seen near the river! There has been controversy over whether the Singapura's discoverer 'created' the breed using cats taken to Singapore with her, but Singapore has adopted the cat as a mascot anyway. During my stay I saw tabbies, bicolours and self-colours, but not a single cat with "ticked fur the colour of old ivory" though this might simply mean that Kucinta is a shy and elusive creature. Having scoured the river area and not managed even a glimpse of Kucinta, I eventually began to wonder "are there any Singapuras in Singapore?"
Singapore is linked to the Malaysian town of Johor Bahru (JB) by a causeway. JB is uninspiring, but is the terminus of the toll motorway to the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur (KL), about five hour's drive away. KL is very cosmopolitan with a great diversity of people. Here I found Siamese-patterned cats and grey Korat-like cats - well Thailand (Siam) is just next-door! The Siamese were closer to the kink-tailed old-style (Applehead) Siamese than to the tubular-bodied, wedged-headed modern Siamese, but not as chunky as Colourpointed British Shorthairs. I was pleased to see them as I prefer the older style. Most of the local moggies had whippy kinked tails or bobtails.
Pet-keeping is more common in KL than in the smaller towns I visited. During a ramble through KL, I discovered the "China Zoological Supplies" pet shop. Think of those news photos of finches crammed into small cages; as well as overcrowded cage-birds there were stacked cages of puppies and kittens (mainly Balinese, Angora and Persian; longhairs being uncommon and therefore more desirable). Although equipped with the basics, the cages were stacked outside the shop three or four high and the kittens were not in the best of health. I was unimpressed and it was hard to decide whether they were better or worse off than the scavenging cats living near restaurants.
A Malay friend of mine tells me that his mother keeps several rescued cats, including longhairs. During the most hot and humid season she bathes the longhaired cats every few days to keep them insect-free and healthy. Longhairs can suffer in the heat and humidity and trimming, clipping or even shaving is sometimes necessary for the cat's own comfort. I hoped that if someone was willing to actually purchase a kitten, it too stood some chance of a decent life. A few of the cats in KL and Penang wore collars, including an Asian Tabby sitting outside the Burmese Temple (where else!) in Penang, but the majority seemed to be strays, neither welcomed nor chased away.
The coastal town of Kuantan, close to the bay of Telok Chempedak, is a 30 minute plane journey from KL. It was in Kuantan that I saw caged cats at a Chinese cafe. They received a great deal of attention from tourists who feared the worst, but all was revealed at closing time when the cafe was locked up and the cats let loose. Due to the amount of discarded food from hawkers' food stalls on the streets there is a problem with rat infestation. During the day the two cats were confined to show-sized cages while at night they patrolled the cafe to deter rats. Luckily (for me) I saw no cats being kept for the table, though I was informed by Chinese contacts in Malaysia that cats are indeed eaten by some.
We spent as much time as possible in the countryside as an antidote to the high-rise scenery of Singapore and the bustle and grime of KL. Malaysia is a fascinating country, from its busy cities to its beautiful rainforests which are sadly being stripped of their hardwoods and replaced by rubber trees or oil palm plantations. In an out-of-the-way kampung (village) near Lake Chini I met a family of bobtailed polydactyl cats. The owners were fond of their 'six-finger cats' and the laid-back cats put up with a great deal of cuddling from the children. These confident village cats were in great contrast to the camera-shy town cats.
In the towns, nervous oriental cats, with tails ranging from tip-kinked to Bobcat-style stumps, scavenged at outdoor restaurants. One very pregnant restaurant cat condescended to sit on my lap and be cuddled - until I ran out of suitable titbits! Torties and tabbies predominated, perhaps such kittens were better camouflaged for survival, though at one restaurant I glimpsed a ghostly white tomcat with a perfect bunny-rabbit tail. He was a very well endowed tomcat, so his 'three-lumped' posterior was an amusing sight. Since he was very shy, we were regularly treated to this sight.
In the Malay tongue, cat is "Kuching" and "Kucinta" means "sweet little cat". There is a town called Kuching, but despite its name there are no more cats there than in comparable towns. At the time of my visit, the world-renowned Selangor Pewter had released a series of nine exquisite pewter cats modelled on popular breeds. Needless to say I bought the full set and had some fun with metal detectors at Kuantan and Kuala Lumpur airports!
From the majestic merlions of Singapore to the streetwise strays of Malaysian towns, the peninsular is home to a variety of felines - real and mythical and sometimes as elusive as Kucinta.
Original Publisher: Cat Resource Archive
Web site: http://www.messybeast.com/catarchive.htm
