Frequently Asked Questions

The Cat Welfare Society is a non-profit organisation run entirely by volunteers. It is registered in Singapore under the Societies Act in October 1999 and as a Charity as of June 2004. The Society's mission is to save lives through sterilisation. We believe that there are humane, effective ways to control community cat population -- that is, through sterilisation instead of destruction.

To support our network of caregivers in Singapore in their Trap-Neuter-Release-Manage (TNRM) efforts, we offer sterilisation subsidies through a reimbursement scheme. To ensure the success of TNRM in the various estates in Singapore, we also serve to facilitate caregivers and Town Councils or Management Committees in problem-solving and complaint management.

We are not set up to run a shelter or rescue operation but will do the best we can to connect people to the right resources and other caregivers for the support they need to do what they do best, providing for the well-being of our community cats.

There are many shelters in Singapore yet a majority have already reached maximum capacity. There is just not enough space to house all the homeless cats. Also, shelters do not address the root of the issue, which is breeding of cats on our streets.

Sterilisation has been effective in halving the population of stray cats in Singapore. Before sterilisation was introduced to Singapore as a national programme in 1998, the estimated stray cat population was 150,000. Currently, our stray cat population is estimated to be 60,000. Sterilisation has also more than halved the culling rate from a high of 13,000 before 1998 to 5100 in 2010. This work must be relentlessly continued to reap its full rewards and save more lives.

When they can no longer reproduce, these community cats become a more tolerable, even well-loved, feature of our community and they are able to live out their lives on the street where they are cared for by caregivers under a Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage programme.

If you require services of a shelter or boarding house, you can contact

1st Pet Solution
130 Dunearn Road (inside Caltex Station)
Singapore 309436
Tel: 97661133
Email: jennynew77@yahoo.com.sg

Kittycare Haven
80 Lim Chu Kang Lane 1 (inside Globe Eximport Pte Ltd)
Tel: 97958995 (Sia Ping)
Email: kittycarehaven@gmail.com
Website: www.kittycarehaven.com

Mutts & Mittens
11 Pasir Ris Farmway 2
Email: enquiries@muttsnmittens.com
Website: http://www.muttsnmittens.com

As they require funds for sustainability, please note that boarding fees apply.

We don’t have a phone number as we don’t have an office. All the volunteers work out of our own homes and offices. Please go to Contact Us to see how you can reach us.

Alternatively, you can look for us on our frequently monitored Facebook Page.

Please call the AVA at 1800-4761600 or 64719987 and SPCA at 62875355 to find out if your cat has been brought in there. If you live in an HDB estate, please call your Town Council to see if they have recently trapped any cats. You can find the Town Council numbers at www.sgdi.gov.sg.

Time is of essence. Please call as soon as you realise your cat is missing. When it is confirmed that your cat has not been a victim of trapping, you can enlist members of the community to help you find your cat by using our self-posting Lost & Found bulletin to send out word about your missing cat.

You can also contact the following Lost and Found service for help in looking for your cat

Tel: 9771 7614 (Sam)
Email: sam@missing.sg
Website: http://missing.sg

We encourage you to please keep your cat indoors at all times. Cats are safer and live longer when they are fully indoor cats.

Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage (TNRM) is a humane alternative to euthanasia for managing and reducing community cat populations. TNRM relies on sterilisation of the cats so that they don't breed.

TNRM begins with the trapping of community cats using humane traps. The captured cats are taken to a veterinary clinic where they are sterilised. The sterilised cats are marked so that they can be easily identified, usually by cropping the pointed end of the ear so that it has a square appearance (known as ear tipping) or cutting a notch at the tip or on the side of the ear.

After the cat has recovered from surgery, it is subsequently released to the site of capture.The cats are then managed back in their original environment.

A caregiver then provides regular food and monitors the colony over time. With TNRM, the cats’ reproductive capacity is eliminated, leading to a gradual decline in their numbers. Nuisance behaviors such as aggression and caterwauling are also substantially reduced.

A community cat is commonly known as a stray cat, but we think the word ‘community’ better describes these cats. Calling them stray cats gives one the impression that these cats don’t have a home -- but they do have a home, which is the environment they live in! Some of these community cats have been residents in the environment for much longer than some of the residents.

Community cats are a part of the community too!

No it is not. Feeding cats is perfectly legal. Littering however, is illegal. Please make sure that you feed responsibly and that the area is cleaned up after you are done with the feeding.

If you have been stopped by residents or officers from feeding even though you observe good feeding habits, do carry around print outs of the following to educate them:
3-Step Responsible Feeding
Responsible Feeding Brochure (Front)
Responsible Feeding Brochure (Back)

If the harressment escalates, call the police.

There may be irresponsible feeders in your neighbourhood that are causing the negative perception of all cat feeders. These feeders either do not clean up after feeding or they invite cats upstairs by feeding along corridors. If you come across any irresponsible feeding, do try to educate them as their actions may be the cause of complaints in your estate that is leading to the removal of cats for culling.

Feeding does not lure cats into the area -- food and territory are not the same. A cat may live in one area and eat in another.

Also, there are cats everywhere -- these cats were already in the community in all likelihood before someone started feeding them. Imagine this -- is it more likely that someone stood outside every day with a plate of food hoping a cat would show up one day, or that the feeder saw a cat or cats and started feeding them? It’s not fun to feed -- to do it properly takes a lot of time and commitment. Most feeders do so out of a sense of compassion and would be happy to stop if there were no cats that were hungry and waiting for them.

Drop us an email at info@catwelfare.org to see if there is already a group of caregivers managing the cats in your area. If there isn't you can start one on your own or gather a group by befriending the feeders in your neighbourhood.

A successful Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage programme is one where the cats are fed responsibly and sterilised.

Caregivers also keep their Town Council informed of their sterilisation and management programme and offer to assist Town Council officers in resolving any issues that may arise from complaints.

You can try luring the cat into a cat carrier with food.

Alternatively, you can borrow a humane cat trap from the Cat Welfare Society by emailing us at info@catwelfare.org. We require a $75 deposit which is fully refundable upon return of the traps.

If no traps are available or you have difficulty trapping the cats, there are professional services that you can engage that provide the full service of trapping, transportation and boarding. Please contact

Professional Cat Trapper
Tel: 94897626 (Vincent)
Email: once_a_stray@yahoo.com.sg

Sunshine Pets & Fish Services
Tel: 96956931 (Richard)
Email: richardngym@yahoo.com

To find out more about sterilisation, please see FAQ - Sterilisation.

Sterilisation is the surgical removal of part of the reproductive organs (ovaries and uterus of females and testicles of males) from an animal so that it can no longer reproduce. It is a safe and quick procedure that is performed by a veterinarian. The cat is under general anaesthesia the entire time, so it will not feel any pain. The procedure takes 5-15 minutes and the cat is back to normal in 1-2 days.

Sterilised community cats can be recognised by a tipped left ear. Tipping is done during the sterilisation surgery while the cat is still under anaesthesia. It is a universally recognised way of marking a sterilised cat so that it is not neutered twice.

Why?
Only by tackling the root cause of cats being killed every year can we stop the problem -- and that is that there are too many cats breeding.

13,000 cats are killed a year -- that works out to 35 healthy cats a day. To keep that number down, the number of cats born has to be reduced drastically. To put it simply, the fewer cats born, the fewer cats have to suffer and die.

Pet Cats
Depending on the vet clinic, the cost of sterilising pet cats range from
Male: SGD 50-100
Female: SGD 80-150
Female (heat/pregnant): SGD 120-180

For a list of vet clinics, you can visit Singapore Veterinary Association.

Community Cats
If you are sterilising community cats, you can call Cat Welfare Society’s voice mailbox at 7000-CATSNIP (7000-2287647) or email catsnip@catwelfare.org to book a subsidised slot. CWS will make an appointment for you at the nearest participating vet clinic.

All cats sterilised through CWS will have their left ears tipped.

The cost of sterilising a cat through CWS is:
Male: SGD 25-35
Female: SGD 40-50
Female (heat/pregnant): SGD 55-80

The Cat Welfare Society offers further subsidies through a sterilisation reimbursement scheme.

After the sterilisation of community cats is done, you may submit the receipts to us within 1 month. Please note that the maximum reimbursement per member/person per month is $500. You will get:

CWS Members (How you can become a member):

* S$20 for each cat sterilised
* S$30 per cat from 5th cat onwards, for receipts dated in the same month

Non-Members:

* S$10 back for each cat sterilised

In general, cats are sterilised when they are 6 months old. However, some female cats do come into heat at an earlier age. Signs of heat include increased appetite, restlessness, being more affectionate than usual and emitting short low calls. At this point, she will also start to attract males. Tom cats, on the other hand, when they reach sexual maturity, will instinctively spray their surroundings with strong-smelling urine. Look out for these signs and take your cat to be sterilised immediately once you see them.

Sterilising male cats will result in health benefits and eliminate ‘anti-social’ behaviours. Also, if a male cat is not sterilised in an area of sterilised female cats, it will roam further afield to look for non-sterilised females and impregnate them.

The cat must not be given any food and water from 10pm the night before surgery.

After surgery, keep the cat in a quiet place and observe its behaviour. You may release it only when it is fully alert and eating well. A male cat usually takes 24 hours to recover, while a female cat might need 48 hours.

When we trap, sterilise and return the cats to their environment, the sterilised cats will guard their territory against other non-sterilised intruders. The sterilised colony will first stabilise, and then decrease over the years as the cats live out their natural lives. But this is only possible if pet cat owners do not abandon their cats and kittens.

There must be an optimal number of cats in each area to guard against unwanted intruders. If the area is big and the number of cats few, the small number of sterilised cats may not be able to keep out non-sterilised intruders effectively. It is however, difficult to conclude what the optimal figure should be, as many other factors, such as the area’s density and number of food sources, affect the outcome. Therefore it is best to return all sterilised cats back into the neighbourhood and let natural attrition decide on how many sterilised cats each area needs to keep out intruders.

The MUIS Fatwa Committee states: "Fundamentally, all mazhabs (Schools of Islamic Jurisprudence) allow the sterilisation of animals. After analysing the arguments and position of the different mazhabs and medical opinion from the Society of Prevention of Cruelty Againts Animals (SPCA), the Fatwa committee decides that sterilising cats on the basis of 'maslahat' (general good) is harus (permissible)."

Sol Hanna, President of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia says: "There is nothing in Buddhism that indicates that sterilisation creates unwholesome kamma. While the female cats may experience some suffering after the operation, this is relatively mild, and is inconsequential next to the wholesome kamma of preventing the future suffering of cats that are without homes and being destroyed by the authorities. Plus there is good kamma in helping all the tom cats restrain their lust!"

Me
If you don’t like cats, you will be glad to know that sterilisation is an effective way of reducing the number of cats in your area in the medium to long term.

If you like cats, you will be happy that fewer cats are being killed because of sterilisation.

My Neighbourhood
Sterilisation eliminates or severely reduces certain ‘anti-social’ behaviours of cats. These include calling out loudly while mating, spraying urine and fighting. While these are perfectly natural behaviours in the wild, they often invite complaints in our urban environment.

My Cat
Sterilisation has health benefits for both male and female cats. Spayed female cats will not contract ovarian and uterus cancers, or pyometritis (a potentially fatal uterus infection). Their chances of getting breast cancer are also greatly decreased, especially for those sterilised before their first heat.

As for sterilised male cats, they will not suffer from testicular cancer and because they are less inclined to fight other cats, their chances of being bitten and hence contracting feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) are very much reduced.

Also, when sterilisation reduces the number of cats in an area, there is less risk of complaints, which would otherwise lead to the cats being rounded up and killed.

Sterilisation saves lives by reducing the number of cats that are killed each year in a bid to control the cat population.

For more than 25 years, an average of 13,000 cats have been killed each year to control the number of cats on the streets. This means that more than 325,000 cats have been killed.

Sterilisation is a humane and effective alternative to killing. When we reduce the number of cats on the streets through sterilisation, there will be no need to kill.

Under the Animals and Birds Act, anyone who is found guilty of pet abandonment can be imprisoned for up to 12 months, fined up to $10,000, or both.See below for full description of the law.

___________________________________________________________________

There are several reasons why new cats appear in your area. They are
1) Relocation because people do not want to see cats culled and release them in other areas instead.
2) Abandonment by residents of the area because they do not sterilise or they have moved away.

The result of both forms of abandonment is that the cat becomes disoriented and is subjected to territorial disputes with existing cats. For previously owned cats, they fare worse because they lack the necessary street survival skills, often refusing to eat and have an overwhelming fear of the environment.

The information required to prosecute a pet abandonment case is as follows
1) Proof of ownership
2) Proof of act of abandonment

There are currently certain complications to prosecuting under the law. Firstly, there is no licensing of cat ownership. Secondly, cats are banned in HDB flats. However, a recent case has shown that it is possible to proof ownership and subsequent abandonment even without licensing and cat ownership is banned.

If you have witnessed someone abandoning their pet cat, do not react in anger but try to find out their address by engaging them in conversation or tailing them. Knowing their address is the single most important piece of information that you can gather.

If you did not witness the abandonment but recognise a cat as belonging to a certain household, that is also a good place to start.

Contact the AVA as a witness to report this household with their address. If possible, arrange to visit the household with the investigating officers. It is even more effective if you bring the cat in question along with you. In this way, you make it impossible for the perpetrators to deny that they have been keeping this cat and abandoned it.

Neighbours can also help to testify that they have seen the cat living within the premises of the household in question.

Often when a cat is abandoned, it is too late for the cat, even if the owners are brought to justice. To prevent cat abandonment in your neighbourhood, work with your Town Council officers to warn and educate cat owners about their responsibility
1) To keep pet cats indoors and for life
2) To sterilise
3) To educate that pet abandonment is a crime

___________________________________________________________________

Animal and Birds Act (Chapter 7)

Interpretation of this Part
41. In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires, “animal” includes any beast, bird, fish, reptile or insect, whether wild or tame.

Cruelty to animals
42. —(1) Any person who —

(a) cruelly beats, kicks, ill-treats, over-rides, over-drives, over-loads, tortures, infuriates or terrifies any animal;

(b) causes or procures or, being the owner, permits any animal to be so used;

(c) being in charge of any animal in confinement or in the course of transport from one place to another neglects to supply the animal with sufficient food and water;

(d) by wantonly or unreasonably doing or omitting to do any act, causes any unnecessary pain or suffering or, being the owner, permits any unnecessary pain or suffering to any animal;

(e) causes, procures or, being the owner, permits to be confined, conveyed, lifted or carried any animal in such a manner or position as to subject it to unnecessary pain or suffering;

(f) being the owner of any animal, abandons the animal without reasonable cause or excuse, whether permanently or not, in circumstances likely to cause the animal any unnecessary suffering or distress, or causes or permits the animal to be so abandoned;

(g) employs or causes or procures or, being the owner, permits to be employed in any work of labour, any animal which in consequence of any disease, infirmity, wound or sore, or otherwise is unfit to be so employed; or

(h) causes, procures or assists at the fighting or baiting of any animal, or keeps, uses, manages, or acts or assists in the management of any premises or place for the purpose, or partly for the purpose, of fighting or baiting any animal, or permits any premises or place to be so kept, managed or used, or receives or causes or procures any person to receive money for the admission of any person to the premises or place,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both; except where an owner is convicted of having permitted cruelty to an animal under subsection (2), he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $10,000.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), an owner shall be deemed to have permitted cruelty to an animal, if he has failed to exercise reasonable care and supervision in respect of the animal.

(3) Nothing in this section applies to the commission or omission of any act in the course of the destruction, or the preparation for destruction of any animal as food, unless that destruction or preparation was accompanied by the infliction of unnecessary suffering.

Under the Animals and Birds Act, anyone who is found guilty of animal cruelty can be imprisoned for up to 12 months, fined up to $10,000, or both. See below for full description of the law.

___________________________________________________________________

It is counterproductive to jump to the conclusion that a cat is abused everytime you see a dead or injured cat. It is one of the reasons why the authorities would not take such cases seriously. If you found a dead or injured animal and cannot determine with certainty that it has been abused, send it to the vet or SPCA for an examination or autopsy.

It is imperative that the eye-witness come forward to help in the investigation. If you are a witness of animal abuse or discovered an animal that is clearly abused:

1. Take photos of the perpetrator or take note of as much details of the abuse as you can e.g. exact location, mode of abuse, description of perpetrator.

2. Take photos of the animal where it lays and the location.

3. If the animal is injured, SPCA can pick the animal up for diagnosis and treatment at their clinic. Time may be of the essence, you can bring it to the vet immediately for medical treatment. While you are there, please tell the vet that you suspect that the animal has been abused and that you would like the vet to give you a written report. You can ask the vet to send the report to AVA.

4. If the animal is dead, take photos first and make as many notes of the scene as possible. Send the body to SPCA who can do a necropsy. The faster you get the body for a necropsy, the more details you get. In a tropical climate, decay sets in fast and it may soon be difficult to determine the cause of death.

5. Report to the police, AVA and SPCA.
Police and authorised officers from the AVA have the duty to investigate and the power subsequently to arrest, enter and search any premises with reasonable cause. The SPCA conducts animal cruelty investigation as its core function and thus provides checks and balances to the authorities' investigations.

Only call the police at 999 when it is a bonafide emergency e.g. the culprit is still on the scene committing a crime.

In other circumstances, contact your Neighbourhood Police Post. It is good practice to find out and save the number of your divisional HQ and/or NPC beforehand from http://www.spf.gov.sg/contactus/contactus_index.htm.
Other numbers to save are:
AVA: 6471 9987 / 6471 9996
SPCA: 62875355 ext 9

When you make a report, get a case number. Also ask which officer is going to be in charge so you can follow up with him or her. Bear in mind, only a witness can make the report - so if someone tells you that they saw a cat abused, only that someone can make the report.

6. If the police refuses to handle an animal abuse case when you feel there is sufficient evidence
You may be told initially by inexperienced police officers that the police do not handle an animal abuse cases, only AVA. The police DO investigate and it says so in the Animals and Birds Act, specifically Section IV. The resources are available online. If an officer tells you that you cannot make a report, you may want to refer him or her to the legislation. You may also wish to escalate it to a superior officer - most of them are much better informed.

Police assistance and intervention is especially important when

i) Act of abuse is taking place at the point of reporting and time is of the essence in stopping the crime.

ii) Abuse is fresh and the abuser may not be far from the scene.

iii) The use of excessive violence against the animal e.g. mutilation, strangulation, sexual abuse. These are often not isolated acts of violence or have an underlying social cause such as drug abuse, mental instability, domestic violence. In such cases, it is imperative that the police be informed as increased patrolling and prompt action may directly impact general public safety.

iv) You discovered the abuse outside of AVA office hours.

7. Prepare your follow up information for the police and AVA.
Take a few minutes to sit down and write out a statement. Also compile any photos, vet report etc that you have. Don't jump to conclusions - just state what you saw/when it happened/what you did.

8. Keep CWS informed so that we can alert caregivers in the area and help to follow up with the police and AVA and create awareness about the case.

9. You strongly suspect that the death or injury of a cat is due to abuse but there is no eye-witness.
Follow the same procedures above in documenting the scene with photos and optaining a vet report or necropsy. Report the case to SPCA and CWS so that they have a record of the incident. This can help in building a case if the abuse persists.

___________________________________________________________________

Animal and Birds Act (Chapter 7)

Interpretation of this Part
41. In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires, “animal” includes any beast, bird, fish, reptile or insect, whether wild or tame.

Cruelty to animals
42. —(1) Any person who —

(a) cruelly beats, kicks, ill-treats, over-rides, over-drives, over-loads, tortures, infuriates or terrifies any animal;

(b) causes or procures or, being the owner, permits any animal to be so used;

(c) being in charge of any animal in confinement or in the course of transport from one place to another neglects to supply the animal with sufficient food and water;

(d) by wantonly or unreasonably doing or omitting to do any act, causes any unnecessary pain or suffering or, being the owner, permits any unnecessary pain or suffering to any animal;

(e) causes, procures or, being the owner, permits to be confined, conveyed, lifted or carried any animal in such a manner or position as to subject it to unnecessary pain or suffering;

(f) being the owner of any animal, abandons the animal without reasonable cause or excuse, whether permanently or not, in circumstances likely to cause the animal any unnecessary suffering or distress, or causes or permits the animal to be so abandoned;

(g) employs or causes or procures or, being the owner, permits to be employed in any work of labour, any animal which in consequence of any disease, infirmity, wound or sore, or otherwise is unfit to be so employed; or

(h) causes, procures or assists at the fighting or baiting of any animal, or keeps, uses, manages, or acts or assists in the management of any premises or place for the purpose, or partly for the purpose, of fighting or baiting any animal, or permits any premises or place to be so kept, managed or used, or receives or causes or procures any person to receive money for the admission of any person to the premises or place,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both; except where an owner is convicted of having permitted cruelty to an animal under subsection (2), he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $10,000.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), an owner shall be deemed to have permitted cruelty to an animal, if he has failed to exercise reasonable care and supervision in respect of the animal.

(3) Nothing in this section applies to the commission or omission of any act in the course of the destruction, or the preparation for destruction of any animal as food, unless that destruction or preparation was accompanied by the infliction of unnecessary suffering.

SPCA will provide flyers that seek "Reward for Information" for abuse cases that are confirmed by a vet or SPCA.

1. Ask your Town Council to put up the Reward for Information Notice on their notice boards.
As a resident, you are in the position to ask for assistance from the Town Council and Member of Parliament.

2. Seek information through a door-to-door appeal
The aim is to flyer the blocks around the location of the abuse with the "Reward for Information" flyer to ask for witnesses to step forward. Any information gathered during the appeal should be reported to the police and SPCA to help them in their investigation.

The best person to lead a door-to-door appeal is a resident of the area as you will have ground knowledge of the estate and the neighbours. Let us know when you have set a date for the door-to-door appeal and we will help you call for volunteers.

A petition for resident signatures can also be initiated for more frequent police patrolling and CCTVs to be installed.

3. Take the opportunity to educate residents
This is also a good time to educate the public about responsible pet ownership and kindness to community animals when you are engaging them through the door-to-door appeal.

4. You have sufficient information to organise a citizen patrol.
If you have an idea about the suspect and their mode of operation, organise a citizen patrol to catch the person in the act through photographic or video evidence. This should be done discreetly without alerting the suspect.

Always remember that suspects are innocent unless proven guilty.

Catching a cat abuser takes vigilance and putting the neighbourhood on high alert not only increases the chances of the abuser being caught but also reduces the chances of the abuser striking again for fear of being caught.

It is illegal to sell animals without a license. If you have evidence that someone is breeding animals for sale in their home or on unlicensed premises, please alert the AVA at 6471 9987 / 6471 9996 or ava_cawc@ava.gov.sg.

If you are confident to do so, make contact via the phone or email provided by posing as a potential client. Do not reveal your agenda but ask pertinent questions that a buyer would legitimately ask and note down the responses.

1) Where did the animal come from?
2) Is the animal tested, sterilised or vaccinated?
3) What kind of care would the animal need if I adopt/buy it?
4) The price quoted seems expensive, why does the animal cost so much?
5) How do I pick it up? (The objective is to get more information about the person's location.)

If you are able to secure a meeting with the person, alert the Cat Welfare Society so that we can inform people in the area to assist.

When you have enough information about the seller, close the deal with money and goods exchanging hands, preferably recorded in photos or videos.

Cases are made or broken by the quality of information that is gathered. Keep your cool and do not reveal your agenda or you close the door on further investigations by alerting the suspect.

Most importantly, exercise caution at all times.

Anyone involved in a hit-and-run accident can be fined up to $3,000 or jailed up to a year under the Road Traffic Act. This is applicable even if the victim is an animal.The Road Traffic Act mentions that hitting a dog, cattle, a horse, ass, mule, sheep, pig or goat could be a crime. While it doesn't cover cats, there are grounds for a charge of cruelty to be responsible for the injury of an animal and not provide adequate help.

In the event that a driver hits an animal, the driver should slow down, stop the vehicle and check on the animal. As far as possible, the driver should take the animal to the nearest vet clinic http://www.sva.org.sg/sva_clinics_page.asp as time is often of the essence.

But those with little experience in handling animals should call the SPCA emergency hotline at 62875355 ext 9.
They should wait for SPCA staff members to arrive, while alerting motorists to slow down and drive cautiously - the traffic police will generally assist in this area.

We do not run a vet clinic unlike SPCA and none of us are licensed to treat sick animals. Please bring the cat to the nearest vet clinic instead. You can contact one of our prefered stray-friendly vet clinics. There are also several 24-hour veterinary centres in Singapore that deals with emergencies.

If you have trouble catching the cat, you can seek help from SPCA at 62875355 or consider contacting a professional cat trapping and transportation service

Professional Cat Trapper
Tel: 94897626 (Vincent)
Email: once_a_stray@yahoo.com.sg

Lingcat Feline Services
Tel: 94788285 (Rebecca)
Email: lingcat@singnet.com.sg

Sunshine Pets & Fish Services
Tel: 96956931 (Richard)
Email: richardngym@yahoo.com

We do not run a rescue operation as we are run entirely by volunteers with work commitments. If you drop us an email, we can try to connect you with a caregiver in the area if one is available.

However, sick or injured cats often go into hiding. If these cats are not caught and brought down to the vet by the person who sees the cat, there is a good chance that the cat will be gone by the time caregivers go down. Remember that time is of essence -- every minute that is wasted deciding whether to pick up the cat may be the minute that could save that cat’s life.

If you have trouble catching the cat, you can seek help from SPCA at 62875355 or consider contacting a professional cat trapping and transportation service

Professional Cat Trapper
Tel: 94897626 (Vincent)
Email: once_a_stray@yahoo.com.sg

Lingcat Feline Services
Tel: 94788285 (Rebecca)
Email: lingcat@singnet.com.sg

Sunshine Pets & Fish Services
Tel: 96956931 (Richard)
Email: richardngym@yahoo.com

You can bring the cat to one of our prefered stray-friendly vet clinics. There are also several 24-hour veterinary centres in Singapore that deals with emergencies.

Many fosterers would like to remain anonymous and often only take referral cases from people they know because of the high occurrence of people dumping cats on them and disappearing thereafter. They are then left with the burden of taking care of the cats.

We hope that people who find the cats can foster them and make use of the Adoption bulletin to find fosterers or adopters and screen for good permanent homes. The sad truth is that there are more cats out there that needs help than people who can care for them. If you can help, we sincerely hope that you can extend a hand to these cats.

There are also shelter and boarding services if it is not convenient for the cats to remain in your home:

Lingcat Feline Services
Tel: 94788285 (Rebecca)
Email: lingcat@singnet.com.sg

Kittycare Haven
80 Lim Chu Kang Lane 1 (inside Globe Eximport Pte Ltd)
Tel: 97958995 (Sia Ping)
Email: siaping@yahoo.com
Website: http://kittycareservices.blogspot.com/

Mutts & Mittens
11 Pasir Ris Farmway 2
Email: enquiries@muttsnmittens.com
Website: http://www.muttsnmittens.com

We would advise you NOT to remove a community cat unless it’s in danger. Most cats are fine where they are. If you'd like to help it, do consider getting it sterilised if isn't already and return it to the area where you originally found it.

Furthermore, due to the vacuum effect, more cats will just move into the area to take the place of cats that have been removed. There are not enough homes and shelters to house them all.

So please do not take a healthy community cat away unless you plan to take it in yourself.

Please check and make sure the mother cat is really not around. Kittens need the colostrum in their mother’s milk to survive -- if you remove a kitten from its mother, chances of its survival are much slimmer. Many a well-meaning person has picked up a kitten, only to find that the kitten does not survive.

Furthermore, once you’ve touched it, your scent is on the kitten. The mother cat may see this as threatening and abandon the kitten.

Standing around in front of the kitten and looking for the mother for a few minutes is not going to accurately tell you if the mother cat is around. She may be gone for hours to hunt for food. If you are standing in front of the kitten, the mother cat is not going to make an appearance.

The best thing you can do is to walk off and check back periodically. If the kitten is still there and in distress, then you might consider taking the kitten in.

Sightings of kittens also means there are unsterilised cats in your neighbourhood. Please consider sterilising them to nip the problem in the bud. The truth is that there will never be enough homes for these kittens if the breeding doesn't stop. For more information about our sterilisation reimbursement scheme and how to go about trapping and sterilising the cats, do visit FAQ - Sterilisation.

There are many shelters in Singapore yet a majority have already reached maximum capacity. There is just not enough space to house all the homeless cats. Also, shelters do not address the root of the issue, which is breeding of cats on our streets.

Sterilisation has been effective in halving the population of stray cats in Singapore. Before sterilisation was introduced to Singapore as a national programme in 1998, the estimated stray cat population was 150,000. Currently, our stray cat population is estimated to be 60,000. Sterilisation has also more than halved the culling rate from a high of 13,000 before 1998 to 5100 in 2010. This work must be relentlessly continued to reap its full rewards and save more lives.

When they can no longer reproduce, these community cats become a more tolerable, even well-loved, feature of our community and they are able to live out their lives on the street where they are cared for by caregivers under a Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage programme.

If you require services of a shelter or boarding house, you can contact

1st Pet Solution
130 Dunearn Road (inside Caltex Station)
Singapore 309436
Tel: 97661133
Email: jennynew77@yahoo.com.sg

Kittycare Haven
80 Lim Chu Kang Lane 1 (inside Globe Eximport Pte Ltd)
Tel: 97958995 (Sia Ping)
Email: kittycarehaven@gmail.com
Website: www.kittycarehaven.com

Mutts & Mittens
11 Pasir Ris Farmway 2
Email: enquiries@muttsnmittens.com
Website: http://www.muttsnmittens.com

As they require funds for sustainability, please note that boarding fees apply.

No it is not. Feeding cats is perfectly legal. Littering however, is illegal. Please make sure that you feed responsibly and that the area is cleaned up after you are done with the feeding.

If you have been stopped by residents or officers from feeding even though you observe good feeding habits, do carry around print outs of the following to educate them:
3-Step Responsible Feeding
Responsible Feeding Brochure (Front)
Responsible Feeding Brochure (Back)

If the harressment escalates, call the police.

There may be irresponsible feeders in your neighbourhood that are causing the negative perception of all cat feeders. These feeders either do not clean up after feeding or they invite cats upstairs by feeding along corridors. If you come across any irresponsible feeding, do try to educate them as their actions may be the cause of complaints in your estate that is leading to the removal of cats for culling.

Feeding does not lure cats into the area -- food and territory are not the same. A cat may live in one area and eat in another.

Also, there are cats everywhere -- these cats were already in the community in all likelihood before someone started feeding them. Imagine this -- is it more likely that someone stood outside every day with a plate of food hoping a cat would show up one day, or that the feeder saw a cat or cats and started feeding them? It’s not fun to feed -- to do it properly takes a lot of time and commitment. Most feeders do so out of a sense of compassion and would be happy to stop if there were no cats that were hungry and waiting for them.

Please email info@catwelfare.org for assistance.

The first thing you need to ask yourself is if you have observed responsible cat ownership by

• keeping your cats strictly indoors; and
• sterilising them.

These are the 2 most important conditions of cat ownership as they dispel all the reasons that HDB cite as to why cats are banned as pets in HDB flats -- that they are hard to confine, that they shed fur and defecate in public areas and that they caterwaul (during mating season).

By meshing your windows and gates, the cats will not be loitering in public areas. They will also be kept safe from falling out of windows. Sterilising them will eliminate the need to roam to find a mate and the caterwauling and fighting during the mating ritual.

Please do not, under any circumstances, abandon your cat in public areas as a result of receiving a warning. Pet cats often do not survive well on the streets as they have lost the instincts to fend for themselves. They also add to the community cat population in the estate and are thus in danger of being trapped for culling.

Do not let your cat roam outdoors
It is a myth that cats in particular need to roam to be contented. The curiosity in any animal, be it a dog, a rabbit or a hamster, would prompt them to explore if not properly secured. There are many examples of cat owners with cats that are perfectly contented to be indoors with the proper care and attention.

A large percentage of complaints that CWS receives about cats are in fact about roaming home cats than they are about community cats. These roaming home cats often loiter around upstairs along corridors and may defecate in inconvenient places or enter peoples' homes. They also reinforces peoples' perception of cats as hard to confine and out of control.

Provide a cat-safe home
Cats are climbers by nature and in high-rise Singapore the incidence of cats falling out of windows is high. Wire mesh (plastic, metal) sold in hardware stores can help prevent painful injuries or death to your beloved cats.

Sterilise your cat
Eliminate undesirable behaviour such as marking (for males) and caterwauling (for females). This also prevents unwanted litters from being born.

Feed high quality foods
Leftovers, food scraps are not meant for cats/pets. They require a good quality diet that will keep them healthy. There are many good brands available in reputable pet shops. Do check with them on recommended foods. Spending a little more on proper diet/better brand of food will prevent massive vet bills in the future. A healthy cat is a happy cat. Recommended types of food should be grain-free, free of colourings, sodium, artificial flavourings & by-products. They are many resources on the Internet that will educate the proper diets for healthy pets.

Provide a scratching post
To prevent your cat from scratching your furniture, provide a scratching post or board. There are also anti-scratch sheets that can be used on your furniture to protect them.

Never declaw your cat. Declawing is actually an amputation of the last joint of your cat's "toes". It is a painful surgery, with a painful recovery period. It can lead to physical, emotional and behavioral complications and the cat is also deprived of its primary means of defense and escape (by climbing) if it ever escapes to the outdoors.

Pets are for life
Please do not abandon your cats. They often do not survive well on the streets as they have lost the instincts to fend for themselves. They also add to the community cat population in the estate and are thus in danger of being trapped for culling.

Common household hazards

Strings and Yarns
Kittens and cats love playing with balls of yarn or dangling strings. But ingesting strings and threads can result in serious life-threatening complications that require immediate veterinarian attention or even surgery. Place strings, dental floss, sewing and craft supplies, rubber bands, and fishing line out of sight and out of reach.

Also carefully inspect cat toys and remove small eyes or tails that come loose and swallowed.

Electrical Cords
Hide electrical cords from view whenever possible with wire covers or tape them onto walls and floors.

Kitchen/Utility
Kitten/cats like to nap in warm, dry places. Therefore, shut all doors to washing machines, dryers, and dishwashers to avoid trapping them when you turn on these appliances. Always check before closing the doors of these appliances.

Use childproof latches to keep your kittens/cats out of cupboards where you store potentially dangerous cleaning products. Many common household products are toxic to cats such as bathroom essentials, mothballs, fabric softener sheets, cleaning compounds like bleach and batteries.

Ensure there are stove covers for hot stove that have just been switched off. An unsuspecting kitten/cat may walk on it and sustain serious burns.

Remove any ant, roach baits and other pest poisons from accessible areas. Do not overspray insect repellants in your home where your cat can lick or inhale it.

Plants and Flowers
Amaryllis, azalea, cactus, caladium, creeping charlie, dieffenbachia, ivy, lily flower, mistletoe, philodendron, poinsettia are poisonous to cats and other pets. The safest strategy is to remove them altogether and replace them with non-toxic plants.

Foods
Some common food items in our homes are harmful to cats, such as coffee grounds, onions, yeast dough, tomato leaves and stems, salt, macadamia nuts and alcoholic drinks. It is also a misconception that cats like to eat bones, especially fish bones. These are often hazardous as they can get stuck in the throat or gut. Keep them safely out of reach and never feed them to your cat.

Home Decorations
Always use water-based paints instead of oil-based. If your cat gets paint stains on its paws or fur, rinse them away immediately under a tap. Call your veterinarian for instructions on safely removing any stubborn substances. Do not use paint thinner on your cat's coat as it is lethal to cats.

Festive decorations such as tinsels, ribbons, ornaments, hooks, garlands, and blinking lights are all big temptations for a cat. Spray ornaments with repellent spray or place tin foil on the floor around the base of a standing decor such as a christmas tree.

A burning candle can ignite your kitten’s/ cat’s fur as it walks by. Never ever leave a burning candle unattended.

Cigarettes
Second-hand smoke is as toxic to cats as leaving them around to the played with and ingested!

Prevent High-Rise Syndrome

Cats are natural agile climbers but it is not always true that they have the ability to balance on narrow parapets or be able to land on their feet everytime. More deaths and injuries are caused by cats falling out of windows than people realise. Cats may be distracted when stalking moths, birds, or other moving critters. All it takes is one ill-timed pounce or missed step to send them over the ledge.

Even a leash or tether does not ensure your cat's safety. A panicked cat dangling by its collar or harness can be strangled, seriously injured, or squirm loose and fall anyway.

Every window that you plan to open needs to have a screen/mesh. A cat-proof screen/mesh has to fit the window frame securely enough to sustain the weight of a ten or more pound cat when they climb on them. More information about available options can be found at http://www.catwelfare.org/node/6324.

Inspect all screens/mesh regularly to ensure that they do not get too worn-off by the scratching or biting of your cat. Once worn, do replace them promptly.

Protect your furnishings

It is important to satisfy your cats' innate need to climb and scratch as trying to stop it will be stressful for both you and your cat. Get your cat a cat tree or scratching post that it can call its own. You can also arrange your furniture or install cat ladders/shelves so that it can safely explore lofty spaces of your home.

That does not mean that your cat will not also climb or scratch your furniture and drapes. To signify that an area is off-limits to scratching or climbing, use sticky tape or cat repellent spray available in pet shops on these areas to correct the behaviour.

Also consider using a cloth cover to protect your furniture. Confine expensive drapes to off-limit rooms.

Keep valuables safe

Cats are curious. So you won't want to leave your antique vase sitting on the coffee table. Put away any breakable treasures that are remotely accessible to your cat or find a way to secure them such as using blue-tag or sticky tape. Put yourself into the mind of the cat, get down on the floor at her level, look around, and remove or secure anything you value.

A real cat-friendly home is one where the cats are valued more than the possessions in the home. While measures can be taken to protect your furniture and valuables, do remember that it is natural that a cat will climb and scratch. It is more important to keep it safe from harm's way by saving it from it's own natural curiosity!

There are many different options out there for securing your windows and gates.

1) Plastic mesh - Plastic mesh is the most common method as it is readily available in hardware stores and can be easily tied to existing window grills using cable ties.

2) Metal mesh - For more durable metal mesh, you can visit Lai XinFeng & Sons Hardware at Jalan Besar or Kelantan Lane with the measurements required. They have a wide range of both plastic and metal mesh. More information can be found at http://www.meshlxf.com/.

For prefabricated mesh, you can visit Wah Yew Shelving & Racks at 592 Serangoon Road Tel: 62941355. More information can be found at http://www.wahyewshelving.com/.

3) Magnetic screens - These mosquito screens can also be used with the dual purpose of keeping your cat safe. More information about the screens can be found at http://www.magicseal.com.sg/ or http://www.magneticscreen.com.sg/.

4) Custom grills - Many cat owners have decided to go for custom grills instead. These are normal wrought iron and alumimium grills but customised with narrower gaps. The gaps can be customised to as narrow as 1.5". Lau Brothers Aluminium Works have experience with several cat owners' homes and can be contacted at 3005 Ubi Avenue 3 #01-56 Tel: 67475771.

5) Invisible grills - Legate's invisible grills can also be customised to a narrow gap for cat owners. More information can be found at http://www.legate.com.sg/.

If we love our cats, we would not take the chance of our cat escaping to be culled or abused or to fall out of windows risking injury or death!

Yes. They will benefit health-wise and you will gain when they stop trying to leave your home to mate, spray urine around the house and get into fights with each other. Also, you will not have unwanted litters of kittens on your hands.

A breeding pair can produce 3-5 kittens, 3-4 times a year. That would result in 9-20 kittens being born in a single year. With so many cats in the house, owners then feel overwhelmed not just by the sheer numbers, but by the time and effort it takes to take care of so many, as well as the financial cost of food, litter and veterinary bills. Many then decide to abandon their cats. Abandonment is a major factor in hindering the efforts of volunteers to control the cat population in Singapore.

Cats do not mate for pleasure. They have no control over their mating i.e. they are slaves to their hormones. Studies have also shown that it is actually a rather painful experience for the female cat.

It is more cruel to let the cats breed when we cannot find enough homes for their litters. Many cats, including kittens, have been abandoned by their owners who end up with more cats that they can handle. Most do not survive.

The question you should ask yourself is "Can I afford NOT to sterilise my cat?"

Your cat may have kittens and finding good homes for them will not be an easy task. If you do keep all of the kittens, the cost of food, litter and medical bills may prove to be a heavy financial burden.

Abandoning your cats or kittens when there are too many to handle is not an option. Cats that are abandoned often do not have the skills and instincts to survive on their own and you will be directly causing their suffering or death from starvation, being knocked down by cars or caught by pest control to be culled.

Sterilisation is a vital personal responsibility of a cat owner.

Under the Animals and Birds Act, anyone who is found guilty of pet abandonment can be imprisoned for up to 12 months, fined up to $10,000, or both.

The MUIS Fatwa Committee states: "Fundamentally, all mazhabs (Schools of Islamic Jurisprudence) allow the sterilisation of animals. After analysing the arguments and position of the different mazhabs and medical opinion from the Society of Prevention of Cruelty Againts Animals (SPCA), the Fatwa committee decides that sterilising cats on the basis of 'maslahat' (general good) is harus (permissible)."

Sol Hanna, President of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia says: "There is nothing in Buddhism that indicates that sterilisation creates unwholesome kamma. While the female cats may experience some suffering after the operation, this is relatively mild, and is inconsequential next to the wholesome kamma of preventing the future suffering of cats that are without homes and being destroyed by the authorities. Plus there is good kamma in helping all the tom cats restrain their lust!"

Please consider carefully before giving up your pet cat. The reality is that there are no enough homes for many of these cats. Also adult cats do not stand a good chance of being adopted.

Please remember that pet abandonment is a crime. It is considered a form of abuse because many pet cats cannot survive on their own. They are at risk of starvation, injury, even death as they do not have the survival instincts to fend for themselves against the weather, cars, pest control, abusive humans and/or other cats.

When you abandon your cats, you are also passing on your problem to a hapless caregiver who has to take care of your cat at their own expense and face the emotional burden when your cat suffers injury, death or being rounded up by pest control. There is a limit to the number of cats that an estate can tolerate.

If you must give up your pet, you can:

1) Put your cat up for adoption on the CWS adoption bulletin at http://www.catwelfare.org/adoptions

2) Consider short-term or long-term boarding options at shelters such as:

1st Pet Solution
130 Dunearn Road (inside Caltex Station)
Singapore 309436
Tel: 97661133
Email: jennynew77@yahoo.com.sg

Kittycare Haven
80 Lim Chu Kang Lane 1 (inside Globe Eximport Pte Ltd)
Tel: 97958995 (Sia Ping)
Email: kittycarehaven@gmail.com
Website: www.kittycarehaven.com

Mutts & Mittens
11 Pasir Ris Farmway 2
Email: enquiries@muttsnmittens.com
Website: http://www.muttsnmittens.com

3) Surrender your pets to SPCA or AVA as a last resort.

The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore is the body overseeing the import and export of personal pets. Information about relocation of pet cats can be found on their website.

You can also consult and engage the following relocation expert to assist you in the matter:

Mutts & Mittens
11 Pasir Ris Farmway 2
Email: enquiries@muttsnmittens.com
Website: http://www.muttsnmittens.com

Pets are for life. Please consider your relocation plans before you adopt a pet.

Our automated system allows you to personally post up details and pictures of the cat.

Firstly, you need to sign up for a user account on the top of this website.

To post up a cat for adoption, upload a good photo and a short write up of the cat, along with its name and your contact details. Our moderator will go through your posting and publish it when everything is in place.

If a potential adopter is interested in the cat that you have posted up - they will contact you directly.

If the cat is above 6 months old, you must sterilise it before putting it up for adoption. You warrant that the cat is sterilised when you post it for adoption at our website.

For a detailed guide on how to register an account, post cats for adoption as well as removing adopted cats from the board, please refer to User Guide (right-click to download). You will need Adobe Reader to read the file.

Login and go to 'Fosterer's Corner' under the 'Public Adoption Board', you will see a list of your cats. Just change the status to 'Completed' and click 'Submit' to remove the listing.

You will not be able to see the listing once it is removed. To put it back on the board, you will have to submit a new listing.

For a detailed guide on how to register an account, post cats for adoption as well as removing adopted cats from the board, please refer to User Guide (right-click to download). You will need Adobe Reader to read the file.

The listings are not meant to be edited. This is to prevent possible abuse where the content is changed once the listing is approved. You may re-submit a new listing and remove the old one if you need to change anything.

It is good practice to screen adopters to ensure that they are aware of the responsibilities that come with adopting a cat. Their decision to adopt shouldn't be made on impulse and it is to adopters' advantage to have fosters take the time to let them know more about the cat they plan to adopt and what it takes to keep it for life.

An Adoption Questionaire is available for you to send to potential adopters before you arrange for the viewing of the cat. It is important that all members of the potential adopter's family to be comfortable with the adoption of the cat as after all, the cat is going to be a new member of their family.

A home visit to the potential adopter's home is recommended before a final decision is made to ensure that the home is cat-safe and that the adopter has prepared the necessary such as suitable cat litter and cat food for the cat to move in.

The adoption process is often a learning experience for everyone. Many fosters and adopters have also become friends through the process. Ensuring that our fostered cats go to good homes is important and so is helping more people become good cat owners.

The purpose of an adoption contract is to ensure that both fosterer and adopter are fully aware of their responsibilities.

Disputes arising from the contract should be settled in mediation or in court. It is not under the purview of the police unless it is a case of cruelty and abuse.

Signing an adoption contract remains a good practice and an important step in building trust between the fosterer and adopter. A Sample Adoption Contract is available for use. Feel free to download, amend and use it.

Please contact the fosterers directly (click on 'Contact Fosterer') to find out more about the cat and arrange for a viewing. Please note that we are not affiliated to the fosterers who have put the cats up for adoption on our public adoption bulletin.

The recommended adoption fee is $40 - $60. However, there may be cases when the cat received extensive veterinary care such as sterilisation, vaccination and treatment which warrants that the adoption fee be set higher. It is good practice to show the proof of such vet care to justify the higher fee.

Ultimately, adoption is about saving lives and more lives can be saved when adopters help with the cost of foster care through the adoption fee. This enables fosterers to continue to do more for other cats once the present are rehomed.

As a responsible pet owner, please do your research before you make any decisions to adopt. A pet is for life.

Fosterers make the decision as to a suitable adopter for their cat. As they are trying to find the best match for the cat, selection is not always on a first-come-first-serve basis.

CWS runs the adoption board as a public service -- as such anyone can post on the board.

While we do provide guidelines on the adoption screening process, we do not know most of the fosterers and they have full control over their screening process for adopters.

Many times, the cats that are roaming upstairs along corridors are not stray cats but home cats. If you know of cat owners who let their cats roam instead of keeping them indoors, please inform us so that we can get our volunteers to pay them a visit and advice on responsible cat ownership.

Here are some humane ways of repelling the cat that you can employ to safeguard yourself:

• Rub white vinegar, salt, strong lemon juice or crushed mothballs where the cat likes to linger. Cats don't like their scent!
• Stick disposable chopsticks or satay skewers (sharp end down) into flower pots
• Splash or squirt water on the cat when you see it outside your door

Often, the spraying of urine is a territorial gesture by an unsterilised cat. If you would like to help this cat, do consider getting it sterilised. A sterilised cat will be tamer and less likely to roam.

If you are living in an estate managed by a Town Council and call them to complain, the cat will be taken away and killed.

If you live in a private estate and complain to the AVA, the cat will be trapped and killed.

If your management committee or residents' committee is trapping cats and is not part of a TNRM programme, the cats are again in all likelihood either being killed or dumped. These cats are not being taken to a nice shelter somewhere where they are looked after for the rest of their lives simply because there isn't enough space to accommodate all these cats.

This does not mean that if you have a valid complaint that you must suffer in silence. Contact CWS and we'll work with you to find an effective and humane solution.

First of all, thank you! We are almost entirely volunteer run and we appreciate any help that is offered.

Check out the various roles offered by the Society at Be a Volunteer. If you are interested in any of these roles or if there are any special areas you believe you can help out in, do fill out the volunteer form and write to us at volunteer@catwelfare.org. We'll be happy to hear from you.