Lift HDB ban on cat ownership, tighten pet licensing rules

Sunday Times 28 Jun 09;

The Ministry of National Development (MND) can alleviate the problems highlighted in the article, 'Suffer the little critters'.

The Housing Board should relax rules barring cats from being kept in flats, while the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) can impose more stringent licensing and registration requirements for such pets.

Both organisations come under the MND.

I like my cats, cars and flowers, and have to resolve the conflicting requirements of the three. Cats shed fur, scratch cars, dig up plants and leave their poo in flower beds, which I discover when I do work by hand.

No wonder relationships are acrimonious between people who do not share an equal liking for all of the above.

Motorists justifiably complain about damage to their precious vehicles. Others hate the exceptionally pungent smell of feline urine and faeces, which the strays either do not bury properly in built-up areas, or do so among people's precious flowers.

Town councils and condominium management groups get

deluged with complaints. When they do not act promptly, some people, driven to desperation, may get rid of the offending cats in illegal ways.

As the vast majority of Singaporeans live in HDB flats, finding homes for cats is extremely difficult because of the HDB ban.

Cats are ideal indoor pets. If the ban is lifted, genuinely responsible animal lovers will be able to find more homes for strays.

If the AVA were to require that all cats be microchipped and registered, the animals can be identified. Steps can then be taken to ensure that owners do not allow their pets to become a nuisance.

While the article mentioned that the Nanyang Technological University staff managed the cats within their vast campus, their system will not work in densely populated residential areas with more diverse types of people, not all of whom will welcome free-roaming cats.

The humane solution is to hand the cats over to people prepared to accept full responsibility for them.

A concession by the HDB to allow cats in flats will greatly increase the pool of such caregivers and eliminate the vast majority of public complaints against felines.

Lee Chiu San

Twisted logic in trapper's act
Sunday Times 28 Jun 09;

We refer to last Sunday's article, 'I help stray cats end their suffering', in which Mr Tony Tan Tuan Khoon attempted to characterise his long history of trapping cats to be killed as an act of compassion.

Mr Tan correctly notes that indoor cats live longer, healthier lives compared to community (stray) cats. A truly compassionate reaction to that fact would be to try to find homes for such cats, or to systematically reduce their population through sterilisation programmes.

Mr Tan resorts instead to trapping them and taking them to the authorities to be culled. His attempt to disguise an act of cruelty as one of compassion results in arguments replete with twisted logic.

Well-managed colonies of community cats are ones with dedicated caregivers who feed these cats responsibly, care for their health, help to resolve cat-related complaints and, most importantly, ensure that all cats in the colony are sterilised.

This is a method that has been shown in the United States and elsewhere to be an effective and humane way to tackle the problem of overpopulation.

Contrary to what Mr Tan would have readers believe, not all stray cats lead lives of suffering and distress. Those in well-managed colonies can, in fact, lead healthy lives.

This is not to deny the dangers that confront cats - the risks of abuse, disease and accidents are ever present. That these risks exist cannot, however, be the impetus for killing them.

Reducing the stray cat population, having more punitive measures to deter abuse, and instilling in our young the need to respect animal life should be the focus of one who is truly compassionate.

Dr Michelle Lee
Cat Welfare Society

Sterilised strays can be a nuisance
Sunday Times 28 Jun 09;

I refer to last Sunday's article, 'Suffer the little critters'.

I support the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority's measure of culling the strays rather than releasing them back into the community after sterilisation.

Sterilising stray cats may still not ensure that they get fed properly. They may still go hungry and resort to finding their own food.

This may result in their adversely affecting public hygiene in the neighbourhood, such as when they knock over rubbish bins when searching for food.

Stray cats also tend to defecate anywhere they like, leaving an insanitary mess behind.

Brendan Tan

Give stray cats a chance to live in our communities
Straits Times Forum 6 Jul 09;

I REFER to Mr Brendan Tan's letter, 'Sterilised strays can be a nuisance' (June 28).

I have sterilised many cats and released them back into the community for many years. We should try to give these strays a chance to live in our urban society.

I work closely with the Cat Welfare Society. The cats around Hougang Avenue 3 are well looked after by many animal lovers. One particular woman never forgets to feed them. At every feeding session, she also cleans up the leftover food. She is a model example of an animal lover.

In my neighbourhood, some residents are more unhygienic than these cats. They throw litter immediately after the cleaner has cleaned up.

We should give these cats a chance to live their lives. They cannot voice their pleas for mercy, so I will do it on their behalf. Please have a heart and be compassionate.

Mr Tan can help by donating to the Cat Welfare Society so it can sterilise these stray cats.

See Choon Beng