The Electric New Paper :
Serious about changing law on strays? Join animal-welfare groups
28 February 2009
I WAS taken aback to read Mr Lee Chiu San's comments in 'Feel sorry for strays? Commit to repeal ban' (The New Paper, 24 Feb).
It seems Mr Lee is unaware that people have been working for many years to repeal the ban on having cats in flats.
The Cat Welfare Society (CWS) and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals have both worked on this for many years.
During my time as Director of Operations with CWS, we received the support of more than 30 vets, gathered more than 3,000 signatures in less than three weeks, met the Housing Development Board twice with two separate proposals (available online on CWS' website).
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority also had no objection to cats in flats. I am also aware of many individuals who have written to the HDB asking them to change the rule.
CWS proposal rejected
CWS would have been happy to revisit the issue and we took HDB's concerns at our previous meetings and incorporated them into our new proposals. Our last request for a meeting to discuss a new proposal was turned down.
CWS' suggestions were that all cats be sterilised, microchipped and that there be a limit on the number of cats in flats (subject to a compassionate period for existing cats as they did when the rule with dogs was changed).
A register could be maintained by the Residents' Committee (RC).
CWS also offered to help with mediation in terms of complaints and advising irresponsible cat owners. There was also a town council willing to implement a pilot project with its RC, but again this was turned down by the HDB.
It was disingenuous that Mr Lee mentioned the case of Mr Tang. There was no active campaigning on the part of Mr Tang to change the law.
So quick to tar community
I was surprised that Mr Lee is so quick to tar the entire community of people working with cats with the same brush especially as he is an ex-committee member of the Singapore Cat Club. After all, isn't this the same community we're talking about?
Of course, it is the duty of every citizen to obey the law, but as Mr Lee is well aware, there is no law against cat feeding. In fact, his letter is an example of what he claims to dislike in others.
There is already a law against littering, which is the same law that should be used against people who do not clear up after cat feeding.
Why have an additional law to ban cat feeding specifically unless there is a particular bias against people who feed cats?
Mr Lee mentioned that 'Those who feed cats near the homes of others may not experience their thievery, fighting and bad behaviour'.
Perhaps Mr Lee is in an estate where there are no responsible caregivers running a Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage programme, which involves responsible feeding, sterilisation and mediation of complaints.
Certainly, if the cats are fed, they would not need to 'thieve' in his words, and sterilisation would stop the fighting, though I am unclear what 'bad behaviour' he refers to.
If Mr Lee is serious about changing the law to allow cats in HDB flats, I am sure that people working for animal welfare would be happy to have him on board.
FROM READER DAWN KUA SU-WEN
Saturday, February 28, 2009
conversations on cat welfare II
Saturday, February 28, 2009
conversations on cat welfare II
Several significant connections were made at the cat welfare meeting between active individuals immersed in cat management in one way or another – TNRM, rescue, fostering, feeding.
Beyond cat management practices, potential advocacy and education/awareness platforms were shared and discussed. These ideas are being ironed out before they can be usefully shared. There is one they can start working on that will benefit from inputs from the wider cat community – you.
They plan to produce and disseminate a smart little booklet for general public consumption. More specifically, for people who don’t like cats. The booklet will educate, entertain and more importantly, provide practical, humane solutions for avoiding cat encounters on the streets and on their lawns.
This, it is hoped, will work towards reducing human-cat conflicts. Working on it might even open cat advocators’ eyes to the predicaments of those who find us less than adorable, even sinister and menacing. Frustrating as their phobias and prejudices are, bashing them really hasn’t gotten us any further along in our goals of getting cats into HDB flats and for the government to stop culling. Satisfying, yes but here’s the much needed Plan B.
Through the next few weeks, drafts of the book will be put up on this blog for comments. The woman’s initial thinking is that it will be in a no-nonsense B/W format downloadable online, also easily printed on any printer by anyone and freely given out to family, colleagues and neighbours.
Owing to her animal welfare and eco interests, the woman has had the good fortune of meeting many socially conscious, passionate people like the cat activists and volunteers who attended “Conversations”. Justifiably, she has been encouraged to think that perhaps people in Singapore of her age and younger are differentiating themselves from those before them by becoming more engaged and more involved in the social and in the political.
If you think the same, you would be wrong. Findings from a recent study on local Y-Gen’s attitudes will knock you off your feet. Y-Geners (born 1977 to 1997) are found to be a very pragmatic lot – they want remuneration for their work. No surprises there. Yet while ability to make decisions and implement changes is cited as the main reason for choosing not to work for the government, a whopping 77% indicated that they should not have a voice/say in any government policies.
So let there be no lingering delusions of grandeur for us rabble-rousers. We have no audience. If the message is too robust for local sensitivities, we will be like a posthumously decorated JBJ making his final stand outside Raffles City, ignored.
That's why the book idea is worth a fair shot. Cat advocators need to speak the regular language of the general population and of the government. As important as words like ‘compassion’, ‘karma’ and ‘rights’ are, they really only work in novels, on TV series and in America. They don’t work in campaigns, on letters and in forums simply because they are too elusive, too vague to bridge the psychological gaps between the 23% and the larger 77%. we need grounded words like 'responsibility', 'co-operation' and 'mutual benefit'. It’s worth thinking about.
Beyond cat management practices, potential advocacy and education/awareness platforms were shared and discussed. These ideas are being ironed out before they can be usefully shared. There is one they can start working on that will benefit from inputs from the wider cat community – you.
They plan to produce and disseminate a smart little booklet for general public consumption. More specifically, for people who don’t like cats. The booklet will educate, entertain and more importantly, provide practical, humane solutions for avoiding cat encounters on the streets and on their lawns.
This, it is hoped, will work towards reducing human-cat conflicts. Working on it might even open cat advocators’ eyes to the predicaments of those who find us less than adorable, even sinister and menacing. Frustrating as their phobias and prejudices are, bashing them really hasn’t gotten us any further along in our goals of getting cats into HDB flats and for the government to stop culling. Satisfying, yes but here’s the much needed Plan B.
Through the next few weeks, drafts of the book will be put up on this blog for comments. The woman’s initial thinking is that it will be in a no-nonsense B/W format downloadable online, also easily printed on any printer by anyone and freely given out to family, colleagues and neighbours.
Owing to her animal welfare and eco interests, the woman has had the good fortune of meeting many socially conscious, passionate people like the cat activists and volunteers who attended “Conversations”. Justifiably, she has been encouraged to think that perhaps people in Singapore of her age and younger are differentiating themselves from those before them by becoming more engaged and more involved in the social and in the political.
If you think the same, you would be wrong. Findings from a recent study on local Y-Gen’s attitudes will knock you off your feet. Y-Geners (born 1977 to 1997) are found to be a very pragmatic lot – they want remuneration for their work. No surprises there. Yet while ability to make decisions and implement changes is cited as the main reason for choosing not to work for the government, a whopping 77% indicated that they should not have a voice/say in any government policies.
So let there be no lingering delusions of grandeur for us rabble-rousers. We have no audience. If the message is too robust for local sensitivities, we will be like a posthumously decorated JBJ making his final stand outside Raffles City, ignored.
That's why the book idea is worth a fair shot. Cat advocators need to speak the regular language of the general population and of the government. As important as words like ‘compassion’, ‘karma’ and ‘rights’ are, they really only work in novels, on TV series and in America. They don’t work in campaigns, on letters and in forums simply because they are too elusive, too vague to bridge the psychological gaps between the 23% and the larger 77%. we need grounded words like 'responsibility', 'co-operation' and 'mutual benefit'. It’s worth thinking about.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Lovely community cats on a Friday
Sometimes mistakened to be "pregnant" if people do not know or notice the tipped ear.
Is Tampines such an anti-animal estate?
Today Online 18 Nov 05
No strays = social responsibility
Letter from Geraldine Soh Geok Lian
During a visit to the Social Responsibility Carnival organised by the Tampines Town Council on Nov 12, I was taken a back by two posters.
There was a gigantic blue check mark on a poster bearing the words "An Estate Where There Is No Strays" (picture), while a "Feeding Stray Cat" poster, which featured a sterilised stray cat eating neatly off a newspaper, was marked with a huge red cross.
Maintaining an estate devoid of cats does not equate with social responsibility. Neither is feeding strays socially irresponsible.
As a country with first-world infrastructure, the Town Council's aim of a stray-less Tampines shows Singapore's backward mentality. The anti-cat stance harks back to medieval Europe's prosecution of cats, which were branded as heretical due to their role in "pagan" worship.
In the same period that the church sponsored the Grand Inquisition, cats were tortured. Europe's cat population shrank to less than 10 per cent of its former numbers.
Ironically, the Black Death brought a brief respite to such persecution in the 14th century. Cats rapidly multiplied and attacked the plentiful food supply: the plague-carrying rats. There is evidence that the plague (that claimed two-thirds of Europe's population) ended partly due to the rise in the number of cats.
Similarly, after the Agri-Veterinary Authority cancelled the Stray Cat Rehabilitation Scheme in 2003 and culled more cats, a rat extermination drive was launched later that year. More taxpayers' money was spent as a result.
Studies have shown the benefits of interaction with animals and how children exposed to pets develop tolerance, compassion and social responsibility. Unfortunately, the carnival instilled negative values in our children: the intolerance of other living beings in our community and the acceptability of a sterile humans-only Singapore.
Lest we forget, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong stated during his walkabout in Kim Keat that it is not illegal to feed stray cats, but it must be done responsibly.
Unless Singaporeans are proud of being a sterile nation, attitudes such as those held by the Tampines Town Council must change.
PointBlank on Cat Matters (Pt1)
PointBlank on Cat Matters (Pt1) 15:08
The case of the 45 dead Seletar cats have rehashed the topic on stray cats feeders and cat owners. In this PointBlank segment, Shi Ting talks to cat caregiver Angela who has been taking care of community cats in Buangkok for 6 years. The cat lover believes that sterilisation is the right way to control and solve the overbreeding of stray cats.
PointBlank on Cat Matters (Pt2) 14:37
What does Buangkok residents feel about the cat situation in their estate? And are they for or against cat feeding in the neighbourhood? PointBlank also finds out The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority or AVA's stand on the stray cats issue and their rationale for renting out cat traps to residents who are aversed towards cats.
PointBlank on Cat Matters (Pt3) 11:47
Part of the stray cats problem is caused by irresponsible cat owners who abandoned their pets. At the same time, cat owners can play a critical role in solving the problem of strays. Elsie speaks to 91.3FM Radio Presenter Suzanne Walker, who has adopted abused strays and given them a loving home. Find out what it means to be a responsible pet owner and how you can do your part.
Stop to help if you knock down an animal
The Electric New Paper :
Stop to help if you knock down an animal
I REFER to the letter 'Cabby runs over cat but drives on' (The New Paper, 24 Feb).
27 February 2009
The SPCA thanks Mr Elson Wong for promoting kindness to animals by highlighting this case, and for carrying the dying cat to the edge of the road.
If Mr Wong could contact the SPCA at 62875355 ext 9, we would like to find out more particulars about the case.
Anyone who accidentally knocks down an animal should, if possible, stop to render assistance if the animal is injured, or at least report it to the SPCA immediately after at the same number mentioned earlier, so that the animal can be rescued (day or night).
MS DEIRDRE MOSS
EXECUTIVE OFFICER
THE SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS (SPCA)
Stop to help if you knock down an animal
I REFER to the letter 'Cabby runs over cat but drives on' (The New Paper, 24 Feb).
27 February 2009
The SPCA thanks Mr Elson Wong for promoting kindness to animals by highlighting this case, and for carrying the dying cat to the edge of the road.
If Mr Wong could contact the SPCA at 62875355 ext 9, we would like to find out more particulars about the case.
Anyone who accidentally knocks down an animal should, if possible, stop to render assistance if the animal is injured, or at least report it to the SPCA immediately after at the same number mentioned earlier, so that the animal can be rescued (day or night).
MS DEIRDRE MOSS
EXECUTIVE OFFICER
THE SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS (SPCA)
| Taxi driver runs over cat but drives on |
| I SAW a taxi hit a cat on Tampines Street 43 around 10.45pm on Sunday. |
| 25 February 2009 |
I SAW a taxi hit a cat on Tampines Street 43 around 10.45pm on Sunday. It may not have been the driver's fault, but he could have stopped to see what he could do for the poor cat. As a passer-by, all I could do was to move the cat from the road to the pavement and call the National Environment Agency. I then had to stand there helplessly and watch the cat die. Though the cabby did not stop, at least there was one other driver who did, to ask if I needed help. People should have the decency to stop and try to help when something like this happens. Animals deserve to be treated better. FROM READER ELSON WONG |
Brigadier-General George Yeo's letter saves the lives of 7 cats
Anyone who is bilingual, please provide a translation under "comments". Thanks
From Dawn's blog
Friday, February 27, 2009
Mr George Yeo
Some of you may have seen this blog post or heard about Mr George Yeo's intervention to help some caregivers have their community cats released from the AVA. I understand there was an article in yesterday's Lianhe Wanbao too.
It's wonderful to see an MP take an interest in this matter and to realise that caregivers are mostly responsible and interested in solving problems. Mediation, as we all know, is really the way to go.
Please do drop Dr Yeo an email, or a post a comment on his blog to thank him for his help!
GEORGE YONG-BOON YEO
Job Title : MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
DID : 63798002
Email: GEORGE_YEO@MFA.GOV.SG
Unit: MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (MFA)
Yes, ban glue traps, says SPCA
Straits Times
STForum Online
Feb 27, 2009
Yes, ban glue traps, says SPCA
I REFER to Wednesday's online letter, 'Glue traps are cruel', and would like to thank Ms Jeslyn Long for her concerns.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) wrote in to the authorities last week following the article, '66 rats killed in blitz at Skate Park' in The Sunday Times (Feb 15) to express its stand - that glue trapping is cruel. The SPCA also asked how the rats were disposed of, as this is also a cause for concern.
Unfortunately, the employment of glue traps to catch rats is an accepted practice in Singapore. The SPCA would like to see them banned.
In Australia, rat traps have been banned since 2006. The ban was enacted via the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act on the grounds of cruelty to the trapped animal, be it rat or other species.
It is important for sources of food that attract rats to be better secured, so the rat population is kept at bay.
Deirdre Moss (Ms)
Executive Officer
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
STForum Online
Feb 27, 2009
Yes, ban glue traps, says SPCA
I REFER to Wednesday's online letter, 'Glue traps are cruel', and would like to thank Ms Jeslyn Long for her concerns.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) wrote in to the authorities last week following the article, '66 rats killed in blitz at Skate Park' in The Sunday Times (Feb 15) to express its stand - that glue trapping is cruel. The SPCA also asked how the rats were disposed of, as this is also a cause for concern.
Unfortunately, the employment of glue traps to catch rats is an accepted practice in Singapore. The SPCA would like to see them banned.
In Australia, rat traps have been banned since 2006. The ban was enacted via the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act on the grounds of cruelty to the trapped animal, be it rat or other species.
It is important for sources of food that attract rats to be better secured, so the rat population is kept at bay.
Deirdre Moss (Ms)
Executive Officer
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Stray dogs should be let go after sterilisation
My Paper
My Say
27th February 2009
THE Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) culls dogs and cats to keep their populations down.
I understand the numbers of strays have to managed to control the spread of diseases such as rabies.
However, I do not agree with how the AVA handles stray dogs.
They could be sterilised and released to let them live out their short lives.
This would be a more humane alternative than putting them up for adoption.
People should not believe that the best solution is for stray dogs to be adopted after being sterilised.
I tried adopting strays over the years but stopped doing so after noting that dogs which had lived as strays for more than two months could not adapt to a domestic environment.
While strays are better behaved than a lot of pedigree pets which are not trained or are spoilt or neglected by their owners, many friendly strays have been mistakenly seen as aggressive and have been beaten by humans.
Stray dogs in Singapore are in a sorry situation.
Ask guards at industrial estates about stray dogs and I can assure you that many would ppreciate the animals’ presence as they provide a sense of security and raise the alarm when something suspicious takes place.
Stray dogs have a place in Singapore, and it is humans who should be more responsible and treat them with graciousness.
Ms Shui Wei Nah
Be the voices for the stray dogs, write to
MS GRACE FU
Job Title : SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE - SMS
DID : 31067207
Email: GRACEFU@MND.GOV.SG
Unit: MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (MND)
Organisation: MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (MND)
Description: VISION
An Endearing Home , A Distinctive Global City
My Say
27th February 2009
THE Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) culls dogs and cats to keep their populations down.
I understand the numbers of strays have to managed to control the spread of diseases such as rabies.
However, I do not agree with how the AVA handles stray dogs.
They could be sterilised and released to let them live out their short lives.
This would be a more humane alternative than putting them up for adoption.
People should not believe that the best solution is for stray dogs to be adopted after being sterilised.
I tried adopting strays over the years but stopped doing so after noting that dogs which had lived as strays for more than two months could not adapt to a domestic environment.
While strays are better behaved than a lot of pedigree pets which are not trained or are spoilt or neglected by their owners, many friendly strays have been mistakenly seen as aggressive and have been beaten by humans.
Stray dogs in Singapore are in a sorry situation.
Ask guards at industrial estates about stray dogs and I can assure you that many would ppreciate the animals’ presence as they provide a sense of security and raise the alarm when something suspicious takes place.
Stray dogs have a place in Singapore, and it is humans who should be more responsible and treat them with graciousness.
Ms Shui Wei Nah
Be the voices for the stray dogs, write to
MS GRACE FU
Job Title : SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE - SMS
DID : 31067207
Email: GRACEFU@MND.GOV.SG
Unit: MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (MND)
Organisation: MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (MND)
Description: VISION
An Endearing Home , A Distinctive Global City
Thursday, February 26, 2009
continuing stroke of luck with new TC officer
Thursday, February 26, 2009
continuing stroke of luck with new TC officer
We have a new TC officer and she is a cat-lover! There has been some complaints about the number of community cats in the estate but she lets it be known that the TC abides by the general rule that sterilised cats will not be removed.
The sun is finally shining on our estate.
But the area she is referring to is a problematic one that keeps us busy catching and sterilising every few months. There must be at least one chronic breeder upstairs if not more. The officer has spotted kittens in one of the corridors and the woman will hopefully be able to follow the lead this time to the culpable unit.
The woman also reconnected with a feeder who discovered an old hoarder in the neighbourhood. The old cleaner lives with her mentally challenged brother and 20 cats, although the number can’t be confirmed as the old woman opens her door only enough to speak through it. Even so, the putrid stench can fell a grown man. Only seasoned cat aunties like the woman and the feeder are able to stand their ground without so much as an involuntary nose twitch as they coax the old woman to let them sterilize and install grills for much-needed ventilation.
They met minor success when the old woman agreed to neuter her male cats. The whole experience brought forth geriatric tears as she passed the cats out to the woman one by one. It’s a start. She has still to relent on the females and help in cleaning and grilling. At least there will be no more new litters for now.
These are the small victories that the woman keeps her eyes on when the decision to fund cat welfare efforts becomes more complex in our present economic climate. Yet all the more, it calls for dedication and determination from volunteers and sponsors to stay the course. It will really be a crying shame if we let our collective labours be undone by a prolonged but ultimately temporary bad situation.
Ginger needs you!
The sun is finally shining on our estate.
But the area she is referring to is a problematic one that keeps us busy catching and sterilising every few months. There must be at least one chronic breeder upstairs if not more. The officer has spotted kittens in one of the corridors and the woman will hopefully be able to follow the lead this time to the culpable unit.
The woman also reconnected with a feeder who discovered an old hoarder in the neighbourhood. The old cleaner lives with her mentally challenged brother and 20 cats, although the number can’t be confirmed as the old woman opens her door only enough to speak through it. Even so, the putrid stench can fell a grown man. Only seasoned cat aunties like the woman and the feeder are able to stand their ground without so much as an involuntary nose twitch as they coax the old woman to let them sterilize and install grills for much-needed ventilation.
They met minor success when the old woman agreed to neuter her male cats. The whole experience brought forth geriatric tears as she passed the cats out to the woman one by one. It’s a start. She has still to relent on the females and help in cleaning and grilling. At least there will be no more new litters for now.
These are the small victories that the woman keeps her eyes on when the decision to fund cat welfare efforts becomes more complex in our present economic climate. Yet all the more, it calls for dedication and determination from volunteers and sponsors to stay the course. It will really be a crying shame if we let our collective labours be undone by a prolonged but ultimately temporary bad situation.
"What has happened to Singaporeans? Is life so bad that we walk around in a daze, uncaring?'"
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”
Mahatma GandhiStraits Times Forum
26th February 2009
My Point
Civic consciousness
'Challenges in life should never get in the way when one sees another hurt. What has happened to Singaporeans?'
MR MICHAEL ROBERTS:
'I am a New Zealander and I have been a Singapore permanent resident for more than 15 years. My wife is a Chinese Singaporean, my daughter is a student at the National University of Singapore and my son has completed his national service.
My sense is that the level of civic consciousness in Singapore is at its lowest since I moved here. I was retrenched a year ago after I visited my son in New Zealand because he was diagnosed with cancer.
I am currently taking night classes to re-tool myself instead of dragging myself into a depression.
Life must go on.
But, just the other day, I had a bad fall outside Maxwell House in Maxwell Road and hurt my arm and leg.
I was lying on the ground, in obvious pain, but at least four people walked by without stopping to ask if I was all right, or to help.
The injury was painful enough that I had to call my wife to fetch me home and I had to use a walking stick for days.
My point is that race, age, personal stress and the challenges one faces in life should never get in the way when one sees another individual hurt and in need of help.
What has happened to Singaporeans? Is life so bad that we walk around in a daze, uncaring?'
Billy was once a "stray"
Billy was adopted from a shelter 3 months ago and his family, Serene et al, celebrated his one-year-young birthday (estimated) yesterday.
Serene and her family met Billy for the first time on 22nd November 2008
Adopt from a shelter.
STOP THE BUYING OF PETS SO THAT THE TREMENDOUS MISERY OF ANIMALS IN DOG MILLS WILL START TO CEASE!
DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE "NICE" display sections of the breeding "factories" in Pasir Ris Farmway - THEY BELIE THE UNTOLD SUFFERINGS OF THE BITCHES AND STUDS HIDDEN BEHIND!
Mr Lee is unaware that people have been working for many years to repeal the ban on having cats in flats
Read Feel sorry for strays? Commit to repeal ban
Read http://catsandstuff.blogspot.com/200...p-25-2-09.html
Thursday, February 26, 2009
TNP (25-2-09)
Thanks to Chinky for sending this in. It's surprising that it seems that Mr Lee is unaware that people have been working for many years to repeal the ban on having cats in flats. CWS has been working on it since its inception and that has been more than the 7 to 10 years that he mentioned. SPCA has also been working on this issue for many years.
During my time with CWS, we got the support of vets, gathered more than 3000 signatures in less than 3 weeks, met the HDB twice with two separate proposals (available online on the old CWS website - it is probably up on the new one as well). Even the AVA had no objections. Before I left CWS, we had sent in another request to meet with the HDB with our new proposal but were turned down flatly as they felt there was no need to revisit this issue.
CWS would have been happy to revisit the issue and we took HDB's concerns into our new proposals - but what happens when the HDB won't listen? I am sure that the many of you out there who have written and gotten HDB's stock reply will sympathetise.
It's also disingenuous that Mr Lee mentioned the case of Mr Tang. There was no active campaigning to change the law.
So where the arguments illogical then? As most of you know, our suggestion was that all cats be sterilised, microchipped and that there be a limit on cats in flats (subject to a compassionate period for existing cats as they did with the rule on dogs). There would be a register maintained, which we suggested that the RCs could help to maintain. CWS also offered to help with mediation in terms of complaints and advising irresponsible cat owners. We even had a town council willing to implement a pilot project with their RC, but again this was turned down by the HDB.
I was also taken aback that Mr Lee is so quick to tar the entire community of people working with cats with the same brush especially as he is an ex-committee member of the Singapore Cat Club. After all, isn't this the same community we're talking about?
Of course it is the duty of every citizen to obey the law, but as Mr Lee is well aware there is no law against cat feeding. In fact, his entire letter is an example of what he claims to dislike in others.
There is already a law against littering which is the same law that should be used against people who do not clear up after cat feeding. Why have an additional law to ban cat feeding specifically unless there is a particular bias against people who feed cats?
Mr Lee mentioned that "Those who feed cats near the homes of others may not experience their thievery, fighting and bad behaviour". Perhaps Mr Lee is in an estate where there are no responsible caregivers running a TNRM programme. With Mr Lee's experience, it would be great if he could start one. Certainly if the cats are fed, they would not need to 'thieve' in his words, and sterilisation would stop the fighting, though I am unclear what ‘bad behaviour’ he refers to.
If Mr Lee is serious about changing the law to allow cats in HDB flats, I am sure that people working for animal welfare would be happy to have him on board. One wonders though what his suggestion would be for the many community cats that cannot be housed even if the rule is relaxed.
Posted by Dawn at 9:48 AM
Read http://catsandstuff.blogspot.com/200...p-25-2-09.html
Thursday, February 26, 2009
TNP (25-2-09)
Thanks to Chinky for sending this in. It's surprising that it seems that Mr Lee is unaware that people have been working for many years to repeal the ban on having cats in flats. CWS has been working on it since its inception and that has been more than the 7 to 10 years that he mentioned. SPCA has also been working on this issue for many years.
During my time with CWS, we got the support of vets, gathered more than 3000 signatures in less than 3 weeks, met the HDB twice with two separate proposals (available online on the old CWS website - it is probably up on the new one as well). Even the AVA had no objections. Before I left CWS, we had sent in another request to meet with the HDB with our new proposal but were turned down flatly as they felt there was no need to revisit this issue.
CWS would have been happy to revisit the issue and we took HDB's concerns into our new proposals - but what happens when the HDB won't listen? I am sure that the many of you out there who have written and gotten HDB's stock reply will sympathetise.
It's also disingenuous that Mr Lee mentioned the case of Mr Tang. There was no active campaigning to change the law.
So where the arguments illogical then? As most of you know, our suggestion was that all cats be sterilised, microchipped and that there be a limit on cats in flats (subject to a compassionate period for existing cats as they did with the rule on dogs). There would be a register maintained, which we suggested that the RCs could help to maintain. CWS also offered to help with mediation in terms of complaints and advising irresponsible cat owners. We even had a town council willing to implement a pilot project with their RC, but again this was turned down by the HDB.
I was also taken aback that Mr Lee is so quick to tar the entire community of people working with cats with the same brush especially as he is an ex-committee member of the Singapore Cat Club. After all, isn't this the same community we're talking about?
Of course it is the duty of every citizen to obey the law, but as Mr Lee is well aware there is no law against cat feeding. In fact, his entire letter is an example of what he claims to dislike in others.
There is already a law against littering which is the same law that should be used against people who do not clear up after cat feeding. Why have an additional law to ban cat feeding specifically unless there is a particular bias against people who feed cats?
Mr Lee mentioned that "Those who feed cats near the homes of others may not experience their thievery, fighting and bad behaviour". Perhaps Mr Lee is in an estate where there are no responsible caregivers running a TNRM programme. With Mr Lee's experience, it would be great if he could start one. Certainly if the cats are fed, they would not need to 'thieve' in his words, and sterilisation would stop the fighting, though I am unclear what ‘bad behaviour’ he refers to.
If Mr Lee is serious about changing the law to allow cats in HDB flats, I am sure that people working for animal welfare would be happy to have him on board. One wonders though what his suggestion would be for the many community cats that cannot be housed even if the rule is relaxed.
Posted by Dawn at 9:48 AM
Spotlight on animal welfare
News @ AsiaOne
Spotlight on animal welfare
Children will have a chance to find out more about animal welfare at a symposium. -myp
Thu, Feb 26, 2009
my paper
CHILDREN will have a chance to find out more about animal welfare at a symposium organised by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals next month.
The Animal Welfare Symposium for Students is targeted at those aged between 11 and 14.
To be held on March 7 at the Singapore Management University, the symposium will cover the plight of domestic animals like cats and dogs, as well as animal cruelty involved in product testing and the use of animals for entertainment purposes.
SPCA education executive Selina Sebastian said: "We find that students enjoy learning about animals through an interactive approach...
"We are going to have games and quizzes related to animal welfare to make it an engaging and inspiring learning experience for them."
Spotlight on animal welfare
Children will have a chance to find out more about animal welfare at a symposium. -myp
Thu, Feb 26, 2009
my paper
CHILDREN will have a chance to find out more about animal welfare at a symposium organised by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals next month.
The Animal Welfare Symposium for Students is targeted at those aged between 11 and 14.
To be held on March 7 at the Singapore Management University, the symposium will cover the plight of domestic animals like cats and dogs, as well as animal cruelty involved in product testing and the use of animals for entertainment purposes.
SPCA education executive Selina Sebastian said: "We find that students enjoy learning about animals through an interactive approach...
"We are going to have games and quizzes related to animal welfare to make it an engaging and inspiring learning experience for them."
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Hand-made TNRM Bags for Fund-Raising…Sponsored by a kind Samaritan
02.23.09
Hand-made TNRM Bags for Fund-Raising…Sponsored by a kind Samaritan
These beautiful Canvas-Muslin bags are sponsored by Sophia for Paw Pledge to sell for raising more funds for Community Cats Sterilisation. As CCK sterilisations are still on-going, and sadly, one new dumped cat just died last week from abuse, we are going to step-up sterilisation there. Separately, we are still helping out the Joo Chiat aunty from time to time by sponsoring medicine. While all these are going on, a caregiver at Paya Lebar is screaming for help on the cat population there spiraling out of control! All these backlog of sterilisation projects really take a toll on Paw Pledge volunteers. Also, not to forget, there’s still the abandoned dog, now in foster care and awaiting adoption!
We are therefore so so so grateful to kind samaritans like Sophia Leong who sponsored these bags to us to raise funds.
A little more about these bags:
* Small in length and width but the base is extremely wide. (Estimate : about 20 cm X 20 cm, base is around 15 cm X 20 cm). This is really my best guess estimate, so in the picture, I’ve put my cat in there to show the rough sizing of the bag.
* The message on the bag says “PLEASE STOP THE CULLING. LET’S START STERILISING!”
If you are interested, please email us to reserve : pawpledge@gmail.com
* Limited quantity
* Every single bag is handmade!
* The bag comes in one-color, natural, unbleached Canvas-Muslin fabric. Thick and Sturdy.
Also, you can get one of our limited edition tees to match the bag…same design in 3 styles (see pics below) 
Here are the prices :
Bags @ S$12 each
Cap-sleeve tees @ S$18 each
Racer-back tees @ S$18 each
Discounts if you buy more than one:
2 tees or more @ S$15 each
2 bags or more @ $10 each
Hand-made Canvas-Muslin Bag
For Illustration Purpose Only, Bag doesn't come with Cat. WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE BAG AS A PET CARRIER.
Cap Sleeve Ladies & Junior Tee
Racer Back Ladies Tee
Ban use of glue traps
Straits Times
Online STForum
Feb 25, 2009
Ban use of glue traps
I REFER to the article headlined "66 rats killed in blitz at Skate Park" in The Sunday Times (Feb 15).
While I acknowledge that the rat menace must be controlled, I was disturbed to read that cruel methods such as glue traps were being used to kill the rats.
Animals caught in such traps may take days to die. Rodents caught in glue traps have been known to gnaw off their own limbs in attempts to escape, with some suffering dislocated bones or having bits of their skin torn off.
Some are thrown into garbage bins alive to die slowly from dehydration, stress or suffocation.
Glue traps are indiscriminate and also ensnare non-target animals such as birds, lizards and other small animals.
In countries such as the United States and Britain, animal activists have campaigned for a ban on such devices, and some Australian states have enacted regulations to ban their use. Why are they still used in Singapore? Glue traps are inhumane and should be banned.
Jeslyn Long (Ms)
Online STForum
Feb 25, 2009
Ban use of glue traps
I REFER to the article headlined "66 rats killed in blitz at Skate Park" in The Sunday Times (Feb 15).
While I acknowledge that the rat menace must be controlled, I was disturbed to read that cruel methods such as glue traps were being used to kill the rats.
Animals caught in such traps may take days to die. Rodents caught in glue traps have been known to gnaw off their own limbs in attempts to escape, with some suffering dislocated bones or having bits of their skin torn off.
Some are thrown into garbage bins alive to die slowly from dehydration, stress or suffocation.
Glue traps are indiscriminate and also ensnare non-target animals such as birds, lizards and other small animals.
In countries such as the United States and Britain, animal activists have campaigned for a ban on such devices, and some Australian states have enacted regulations to ban their use. Why are they still used in Singapore? Glue traps are inhumane and should be banned.
Jeslyn Long (Ms)
Petrol Station Supervisor
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Petrol Station Supervisor
This ear-tipped tortoise-shell girl is now the 'official' cat of this particular Esso station I frequent.
I have seen her a couple of times. When I was there again 2 days ago, she is spotted with a pretty collar.
I asked the cashier if this cat belonged to the station, she replied 'No, but the patrons feed her.'
Dad jokingly added in if we can bring her home. The cashier promptly replied 'You can try, but I don't think she wants to go with you.'
See, she's their 'official' cat.
There are cat lovers and there are "cat lovers"
One of AVA's tiresome excuses to continue culling cats is "the need to balance the interests of cat lovers and people who do not like cats for one reason or another".
The term "cat lovers" sometimes conjures up images of a fanatic cat hoarder who would like to have the whole estate filled with cats!
However there is now an increasing number of people who "love" cats, amongst other animals, and who are concerned enough about the decades of ineffective killing of cats in response to complaints without thorough investigations and without applying humane solutions. These people self-volunteer to resolve the problems that arise from the presence of community cats in an environment of increasing human density, by reducing the cat population through sterilisation and to resolve complaints about cats by mediation for the town councils and suggesting humane solutions.
AVA fails to give due recognition to these people who are truly concerned about the problems of cats and who are doing what AVA should have been doing!
Do the right thing. Reinstate the Stray Cat Rehab Scheme.
The term "cat lovers" sometimes conjures up images of a fanatic cat hoarder who would like to have the whole estate filled with cats!
However there is now an increasing number of people who "love" cats, amongst other animals, and who are concerned enough about the decades of ineffective killing of cats in response to complaints without thorough investigations and without applying humane solutions. These people self-volunteer to resolve the problems that arise from the presence of community cats in an environment of increasing human density, by reducing the cat population through sterilisation and to resolve complaints about cats by mediation for the town councils and suggesting humane solutions.
AVA fails to give due recognition to these people who are truly concerned about the problems of cats and who are doing what AVA should have been doing!
Do the right thing. Reinstate the Stray Cat Rehab Scheme.
Like us, human beings, cats yearn for kindness
One of the things that this very senior lady looks forward to every morning, is to "sayang" ("show affection") the community cats she gets to meet along the way to the market. She will leave some kibbles for the cats in a paper bowl and then pick up the leftover on her way home. Sometimes the kibbles were untouched but the cats still turned up to greet her and to receive her gentle words of loving-kindness.
This lady said that she loved all God's creatures. She would pray for mercy whenever she heard the sound of shooting of the birds.
She recounted the horrors of watching children from a nearby Primary School abusing cats and seeing carcasses of cats hung from the branches of the trees.
She is glad that now there are much fewer cats, thanks to fellow residents who put into practice, TnRm (Trap-Neuter-Release-Manage). She is able to see that the cats now are healthy and looking very beautiful!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Mama's video
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Mama's video
From the desk of Mama Piggy:
Here it is!!!
Today marks the third month of Mama's stay with us! And she is definitely piling on the pounds. Her belly used to be trim and without an extra inch of fat, but now it's rotund and wobbly!
Here it is!!!
Today marks the third month of Mama's stay with us! And she is definitely piling on the pounds. Her belly used to be trim and without an extra inch of fat, but now it's rotund and wobbly!
Feeding cats upstairs jeopardise the lives of the community cats
These photographs were taken outside the last flat on the second storey.
There was smell of urine from the staircases just besides this flat.
Even if the urine came from a human, just ONE complaint to the town council will result in this cat being rounded up by the pest controller to be killed at the AVA. An overzealous property officer may even instruct the pest controller to round all other cats downstairs!
If you know anyone who has home cats, PLEASE IMPLORE THEM TO KEEP THE CATS SAFE INDOOR!
If know anyone who feeds cats upstairs, PLEASE IMPLORE THEM TO DO SO RESPONSIBLE AND THIS INCLUDES FEEDING THEM IN A DISCRETE AREA DOWNSTAIRS!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Koon-King's injured leg is back to normal size
"if cats on the street have a tough life, then shouldn't we be kinder to them instead of killing them? "
Cabby runs over a cat and leaves it to die
Posted on 22 Feb, 2009 10:35
STOMPer Elson witnessed a cat being run over by a cabby, who drove off immediately without helping the injured animal.
The STOMPer was appalled by the driver’s inhumane attitude and behaviour.
Elson says:
“Just a few hours ago (21 Feb), I witnessed a hit and run at Tampines St 43, Blk 480 at 10:45 pm.
“A taxi driver ran over a cat. It may not have been the driver’s fault, but at least he could have just stopped to see what he could have done for the poor cat.
“As a passer-by, what I could do was just to bring the cat from the road to the pavement and call the National Environment Agency.
“I stood there helplessly watching the cat die. At least there was one driver who stopped and asked if I needed help.
“People should at least have the decency to stop and try to help. What is happening to the morality of Singaporeans? Do they just care about themselves or is it that they feel that animals don’t deserve to be treated in a better way?
“It has been already 8 hours since the accident happened. The poor cat is still on the pavement despite numerous calls we made to the NEA to request for somebody to come down to help dispose of its body.”
The STOMPer was appalled by the driver’s inhumane attitude and behaviour.
Elson says:
“Just a few hours ago (21 Feb), I witnessed a hit and run at Tampines St 43, Blk 480 at 10:45 pm.
“A taxi driver ran over a cat. It may not have been the driver’s fault, but at least he could have just stopped to see what he could have done for the poor cat.
“As a passer-by, what I could do was just to bring the cat from the road to the pavement and call the National Environment Agency.
“I stood there helplessly watching the cat die. At least there was one driver who stopped and asked if I needed help.
“People should at least have the decency to stop and try to help. What is happening to the morality of Singaporeans? Do they just care about themselves or is it that they feel that animals don’t deserve to be treated in a better way?
“It has been already 8 hours since the accident happened. The poor cat is still on the pavement despite numerous calls we made to the NEA to request for somebody to come down to help dispose of its body.”
Sunday, February 22, 2009
How to Help Your Pet Deal With Grief or Depression
How to Help Your Pet Deal With Grief or Depression
How to Help Your Cat Deal With Grief
If the person will not be coming home, as in the case of a deceased person or one in a (final) nursing home, be especially loving. A scratch, a stroke, a cuddle - all these can be your allies. Try to find those spots that the cat really needs to have touched and touch them. Talk about the lost person and how much you loved them. Your new cat will understand your emotion, if not your words. Share your grief with the cat. You will find a ready friend.
Soon, the cat will begin to eat again. It will half-heartedly play with you. You will recognize the change. The cat - and you, have learned to live with the loss and the hole in your hearts. You can begin now to forge ahead in a life together, sharing the memories of that special departed person.
What about those temporary separations, like a child going off to college or getting married? They leave the family pet at home and the cat feels the loss and grieves. What do you do then? If it's possible, have the person come and visit so that the cat realizes that the person isn't gone forever. If the child has gone off to college, they will be home soon enough, and the cat may just need to hear their voice once in a while. Offer the telephone to your cat's ear so it can hear the beloved voice. The first time you do this, your cat may be startled, but after that, it will be puzzled. It can recognize the voice but the smell is different. Let the cat smell the phone and realize that the voice is coming through the phone but that the person is not there. The cat will be comforted by this - it know's what a telephone is for by watching you.
In the case of divorce it will be more difficult for all concerned. The cat misses the other person in the family, that person isn't dead, the remaining person won't talk and is usually very angry. The cat has no one to understand what it feels. Try to be patient with the cat. Try to have some empathy.
For more information on cats dealing with grief you can go check out this site Cat Grief.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
"I will never adopt any cat or dog again."
Often we hear of people whose animal companions have died and they declared that they would never adopt another cat or dog again because it would be too painful and no other cat or dog could replace the one they lost.
What would your beloved animal companion say to you if he or she could?
I bet it would be:
"There are many other dogs and cats like me, once languishing in a shelter. They too long for a home just like the one that you gave me. Please give your home and your heart again to another one just like me. Expand the love, not restrict it."
Koon-King longs for the safety of a good home where he would never be attacked by human or dogs again. Leave a contact under comments if you would like to adopt Koon-King and arrangement can be made for him to be vaccinated and then boarded for a short while at a boarding facility to train to use a litter-bin.
What would your beloved animal companion say to you if he or she could?
I bet it would be:
"There are many other dogs and cats like me, once languishing in a shelter. They too long for a home just like the one that you gave me. Please give your home and your heart again to another one just like me. Expand the love, not restrict it."
Koon-King longs for the safety of a good home where he would never be attacked by human or dogs again. Leave a contact under comments if you would like to adopt Koon-King and arrangement can be made for him to be vaccinated and then boarded for a short while at a boarding facility to train to use a litter-bin.
My Dog Skip
The last scene from the movie "My Dog Skip".
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"I recieved a trans-atlantic call one day. "Skip died", Daddy said. He and my mama wrapped him in my baseball jacket. They buried him out under the elm tree, they said. That wasn't totally true. For he really lay buried in my heart."
A terrapin was saved from the pot, thanks to a man
News @ AsiaOne
Man saves terrapin from cooking pot
A terrapin was saved from the pot, thanks to a man. -NST
Sat, Feb 21, 2009
The New Straits Times
JOHOR BARU, MALAYSIA: A terrapin was saved from the pot, thanks to a man who went out of his way to convince those who were about to eat the animal about divine blessings and bad karma.
Racing instructor Tai Seng Kooi, 49, nonetheless had to fork out RM700 to save the endangered reptile from being thrown into the cooking pot.
Tai, a former Malaysian ace motorcycle racer, said he was passing by a restaurant on Tuesday afternoon when he saw a terrapin weighing more than 30kg on top of a table at a restaurant in Jalan Maju, Taman Maju Jaya here.
Tai said he feared for the terrapin's safety although the restaurant staff did not say why the terrapin was at the restaurant, which is known for serving "exotic" meat.
"I told the people at the restaurant that I wanted to buy the terrapin and set it free as doing so would bring blessings and that those who did harm to the creature would suffer bad karma," Tai said, adding that he believed the terrapin must have lived for more than 30 years.
"I told the people at the restaurant that a creature this old should not be harmed. Fortunately, they agreed to sell it to me for RM700."
Tai learnt that the terrapin was caught from a river in Pahang and that it could fetch up to RM3,000.
Tai declined to reveal the location where he had sent the terrapin. He said he was still fearful for the terrapin's safety even after rescuing it.
"I had brought the terrapin to a safe sanctuary. It is pointless to release it into the river again as someone else may catch it and then, it may still end up in the cooking pot," said Tai.
Terrapins, a cousin to the turtle, used to be found in abundance in South Asia, but their numbers have dwindled due to activities such as fishing.
Many had been caught dead in fishing nets, or fatally injured by boat engine's rotor blades, or died due to pollution, sand dredging and poaching.
Today, terrapins are listed as among the world's 25 species being threatened by extinction.
Are strays in our ISTANA culled (i.e. killed)?
Only on People.com
The Clintons Bid Farewell to Socks the Cat
Originally posted Friday February 20, 2009 04:20 PM EST
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"Socks brought much happiness to Chelsea and us over the years, and enjoyment to kids and cat lovers everywhere," the Clintons said in a statement, released first to PEOPLE.COM. "We're grateful for those memories, and we especially want to thank our good friend, Betty Currie, for taking such loving care of Socks for so many years."
Currie, the president's personal secretary, and her husband, Bob, took over care of Socks after the Clintons left the White House. It was near their home in Maryland that Socks was put to sleep Friday morning. "He could no longer stand and wasn’t eating," according to family friend and presidential historian Barry Landau.
His Pal Buddy the Lab
Though much was made of the fact that Buddy, the family’s beloved brown Labrador retriever – who died after being hit by a car in 2002 – remained with the Clintons while Socks did not, Landau says, "The truth be known, Betty asked if Socks could come live with her. The Clintons didn’t abandon Socks. They were totally conflicted. It broke their hearts, but they knew it would be the right thing for Socks’ welfare.”"Betty had lost a close family member and a dog and they wanted to do something nice for her," continues Landau, noting that Hillary Clinton had just been elected to the U.S. Senate.
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A Taste for Chicken
In the years since he left the White House, Landau says, "Socks had an incredible life. Betty cooked for Socks," he said, noting the cat loved chicken. He was also the subject (along with the family dog) of a book by Hillary Clinton titled Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids’ Letters to the First Pets.On Thursday, Currie took Socks for one last walk; she plans to have the cat cremated.
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