WED 19 AUGUST 2009
The Electric New Paper :
Help needed with strays
Less regulation, more assistance
20 August 2009
THIS morning, a fellow resident and caregiver of community cats called me, sounding upset about the recent discovery of a number of new cats in our precinct.
She suspected they came from families who moved away from the nearby HBD blocks of flats marked for en-bloc demolition.
I told her we would have to trap them as soon as possible for sterilisation.
I am part of the 'cat management' team in my neighbourhood, which not only traps stray cats for sterilisation but also assists the property officers in looking into complaints about cats.
Caregivers all over the island are facing the same problem - abandonment of home cats.
In our 'cat management', whenever we come across families with home cats, we will educate them on the need to be responsible, which includes sterilisation and keeping them indoors.
However, we need help as we have limited resources.
We appeal to the HDB to replace the ban on cats with regulations that include sterilisation and microchipping.
We appeal to the town councils and the residents' committees to start programmes to inculcate pet responsibilities and also to offer financial assistance to poor families that cannot afford the vet fees for neutering.
The town councils and Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) can simplify the process for caregivers to claim reimbursement of sterilisation fees for community cats so that the rate of sterilisation can be expedited.
FROM READER DR TAN CHEK WEE
