Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Allowing cats in HDB flats would result in less irresponsibility

http://tnp.sg/speakup/story/0,4136,234250,00.html

The Electric New Paper :

Allowing cats in HDB flats would result in less irresponsibility
I REFER to the report 'Residents get catty over mess' (The New Paper, 2Mar) and the letters 'Ban against cats should be lifted' and 'H...DB ban unfair to cat lovers' (The New Paper, 6 Mar).
23 March 2010


The SPCA supports the call for the longstanding ban on keeping of cats to be reviewed by HDB.

Abandonment and straying of owned cats is a common problem, resulting in many complaints which affect the status of sterilised community cats.

Responsible

The SPCA believes that permitting cats to be kept as pets in HDB flats would call for more accountability by owners (who are at present keeping cats), and result in less irresponsibility.

Cats actually are very suitable for apartment living.

SPCA has always advocated that pets be kept responsibly and in consideration of one's neighbours.

Residents could be permitted to keep cats on the proviso that they are sterilised, microchipped and kept indoors.

Together with a government-aided programme (along the lines of the Stray Cat Rehabilitation Scheme which was halted abruptly in 2003) carrying out sterilisation of community cats, we feel both initiatives would go a long way towards solving the straying cat problem.

DEIRDRE MOSS (MS)
EXECUTIVE OFFICER
SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS (SPCA)