I read with concern about how the Tampines Town Council culls cats due to residents’ complaints. I believe that the situation in this estate is just the tip of the ice-berg, and that there are many more cats which are culled as a result of complaints from residents. Culling is used as a quick-fix method to get rid of cats in housing estates, in fact, just a means to an end.
For too long, our “quick-fix” solution has led to the deaths of many cats in Singapore. Not only do people complain about cats’ presence in their estates; they also complain about people feeding cats that they think leads to a proliferation of the cat population.
For too long, people have not questioned how a cat population increases. For too long, there has been a tendency to anthropomorphize cats - to focus on cats’ perceived negative attributes - that can then be used as an excuse for culling cats in Singapore.
Scratch beneath the surface of the issue, and we would realise that these cats are paying a hefty price for the mistakes committed by Man. If we ask ourselves where these cats come from, we would realise that they were once pets that are now abandoned, without the safe shelters of a home. These cats are vulnerable to the vagaries of the weather and potential abuse, to name just a few dangers. Is it the cats’ fault that they were abandoned onto the streets? Is it their fault too, that their previous owners had thrown them out without due consideration of the consequences?
Residents in various parts of Singapore have stepped up on sterilizing the cats in their neighbourhood to ensure that the population of cats is under control. These cats have a tipped left ear that shows that they have been sterilized. These residents also feed the cats and clear up after feeding to ensure that litter is not left behind. We should note that feeding cats responsibly is not “illegal” (as our ex-PM Goh Chok Tong had mentioned), and does not lead to a rise in the population. It is only when unsterilised cats mate that the cat population proliferates. As with all cases, there will be irresponsible cat-feeders who do not clear away left-over food, but are we going to blame the cats too, for those people who do this?
More needs to be done to educate people about the circumstances that have led to an increase in the cat population in Singapore. Instead of attributing blame on the presence of these sentient creatures and labeling them a “nuisance”, we should reflect on the root cause of the problem and realise that cats are paying for Man’s mistakes – chiefly pet abandonment and ignorance – and paying dearly with their lives.
For too long, we have applied a "quick-fix" solution by culling cats. If we only begin to ask, "Where do these cats come from?" we would realise that the root cause of the problem lies with Man, and not our feline friends.
