Straits Times | 21 May, 2012 
TODAY | Jan 12, 2012
Spring cleaning with a difference Neo Chai Chin
Singapore – Some 20 civil servants will spring-clean three low-income households today as part of a pilot project by the Cat Welfare Society (CWS) to raise awareness of animal hoarding. Animal hoarding is defined as the keeping of animals without adequate ability to care for them, and the five households involved in CWS’ project are currently long-term cases helped by the animal welfare organisation’s volunteers. Another two households will be given a thorough cleaning by about 15 employees of deals website DEAL.com.sg next Thursday. Each will also be given a 6.8kg bag of cat food. Explaining the reasons behind the initiative, CWS vice-president Veron Lau said there is a need for more people to recognise signs of animal hoarding in order for action to be taken early on. Four of the five households involved in the pilot project are considered animal hoarders. The fifth is an experienced caregiver to, and fosterer of, multiple cats. “She is not considered a hoarder but sometimes needs help cleaning her home,” said Ms Lau. Hoarding occurs mostly among the elderly and less-educated, and severe cases pose a challenge to the authorities and animal welfare groups, said the CWS. The organisation has flagged this issue in the media over the past year after encountering an average of one case per month. The project may be expanded if it proves successful and the CWS is hoping for more corporate organisations to come on board. Besides having its employees help out, DEAL.com.sg will run a “Save A Kitty” donation deal from today to Monday. The public can make S$5, S$10 or S$50 donations, which will go towards the sterilisation of 500 cats. Source: TODAYonline
Media Release | Jan 12, 2012
The Cat Welfare Society and corporate volunteers to help under-privileged individuals to care for their cats
12 January 2012, Singapore – The Cat Welfare Society has teamed up with volunteers from corporate organizations, to help under-privileged individuals in Singapore to care for their cats. These individuals, who may be elderly and typically do not have much education, skills or opportunities, frequently struggle to make ends meet. Despite this, they have found that they can make a difference, by performing a simple but dedicated act of looking after stray cats and providing care and shelter for them when necessary. There are those in society who find it difficult to understand why people who already face hardships in their daily existence would want to help animals. There are also those who admire their altruistic attitudes and have chosen to come forward to help. The corporate volunteers from two organizations, a government agency and DEAL.com.sg (DEAL) will meet the challenges of providing assistance to these beneficiaries and their animals on 12 and 19 January 2012 respectively. Volunteers will be assisting through home cleaning and simple home improvements.
Solid Gold will sponsor a large bag of cat food for each of these households. Volunteers will be split into groups of between five to eight, to help selected households. The households represent a spectrum. Some are able to cobble together a very humble but comfortable existence for themselves and their cats, while others are constantly faced with an uncertain future for themselves and their cats. There is one household which faces an immediate dire consequence. As this is the first time such an initiative has been organized, five households have been identified. If this initiative is successful, the Cat Welfare Society may consider expanding this project. In the last decade, effective stray management measures, such as sterilization, have been introduced by Agri-food & Veterinary Authority, SPCA and the Cat Welfare Society. Results have been demonstrated through the decreasing stray numbers and culling rate. But for those who face the challenges of caring for community cats on a daily basis, change has not come fast enough. “When there are irresponsible pet owners who abandon their pets on a whim, there are those who feel they must save them by hoarding them. Knee jerk reactions to complaints that result in the indiscriminate culling of cats also produces another knee jerk reaction when people start bringing them home in big numbers to keep them safe. In the end, everyone loses,” says Ms Fareena Omar, President of the Cat Welfare Society. Hoarding is not defined by the number of animals kept, but by the ability to provide sufficient care for them. The hoarding phenomenon is especially acute in the elderly and less educated, who may suffer from impaired decision-making. When cases become severe, they pose a real challenge to authorities and animal welfare groups. Sustainable long term solutions often require the dedication of volunteers and the cooperation of multiple social and governmental agencies. In some cases, even professional counselors are required. It is important to arrest these hoarding cases, before they become dire. “Reducing the stray animal issue humanely and encouraging responsible pet ownership are central policies and actions that a matured society must take seriously, because it is proven time and again that animal welfare does not just impact animals. It impacts people and their communities,” says Ms Omar.
Dedication from long term volunteers
The corporate volunteers will be getting a taste of what long-term volunteers, like Angela Ling and Jaime Tan, have dealt with on a regular basis. They may even find their pre-conceived notions challenged, with regards to what is a meaningful existence. Opportunities exist in recognizing and embracing diversity in the human condition and creating solutions for them. “These volunteers often form close relationships with the people they are helping. They start out indignant that the hoarders have been so misguided in their actions. However, when they start understanding the motivations and the circumstances behind those decisions, they are touched and feel compelled to help both the hoarder, as well as the animals,” says Ms Omar.
Helping people help animals
In addition to this corporate volunteer project, DEAL, which is one of Singapore’s first and largest daily deals sites, will also be running a donation drive. This is their first collaboration with a non-profit organization, and they have invited the Cats Welfare Society, to leverage on its successful marketing platform, seeking donations from almost a million individuals every day. “This is DEAL’s first corporate social responsibility project, and we are absolutely excited to be able to contribute to the cause. Beyond just a donation drive, DEAL will also be volunteering with CWS elderly care project. We are thrilled to be able to impact and contribute towards the well-being of both humans and felines at one go,” says Patrick Linden, CEO of DEAL. DEAL will run a “Save A Kitty” donation deal from 12 to 16 January 2012, targeting to raise $10,000, which will be used for the sterilization of 500 cats. The public can make $5, $10 or $50 donations. Donors of $50 and above will also receive a limited edition tote bag, as a gesture of appreciation from both CWS and DEAL.com.sg.
About Cat Welfare Society
The Cat Welfare Society is a charity that aims to promote a humane, responsible and informed society in Singapore where cats are cared for responsibly as pets and treated with kindness as community cats. Through its programmes, the Society actively promotes sterilisation as a vital personal responsibility of a cat owner and an effective means to control our community cat population, instead of destruction. The Society and its community of volunteers and cat caregivers also work with government organizations, community groups and other animal welfare organizations to address cat-related issues humanely through mediation, education and direct action.
Media Contacts
Veron Lau (Ms) Vice President, Cat Welfare Society Email: [email protected] Chan Yiu Lin (Ms) PR Representative, DEAL.com.sg Email: [email protected]
The New Paper | May 31, 2011
Woman, 70, has more than 70 cats Kenneth Poon & Chai Hung Yin
FOR more than 30 years, she has been adopting stray kittens she finds on the streets. Aunty Zhang (not her real name) is 70 years old now and earns only $400 a month as a cleaner at a KTV lounge. Yet, she is looking after more than 70 cats in her home, a rented apartment above a shophouse in the Joo Chiat area. Other cat lovers have been going online to seek donations for her and for people to adopt the cats. Last month, a young married couple started a Facebook page called “LiFelineSG” to find new homes for Aunty Zhang’s cats. “Finding dedicated fosters for the cats is difficult. Potential adopters are thoroughly screened for their commitment level and sincerity,” said the couple, who declined to be named. Volunteer groups such as the Cat Welfare Society and Pawpledge, as well as several other individuals, have also been trying to rehome some of Aunty Zhang’s rescued cats so that she can have more time to look after her own health. Volunteers and animal lovers who are helping her declined to put The New Paper on Sunday in touch with her, saying they were afraid that she might get into trouble for keeping so many cats in her rented apartment. The couple first found out about Aunty Zhang when they stumbled upon three abandoned kittens and were looking for potential adopters. A friend told the couple that Aunty Zhang was running a “kitten orphanage” and that her house was full of cats. When they met her, they felt compelled to help her rehome her cats to lighten her burden. The couple described Aunty Zhang as a woman “hardened by hardship” and that it took quite a while for them to convince her that rehoming the cats was the best thing to do. They said: “Eventually, Aunty Zhang realised that in her situation, finding the cats new homes is the best decision for the cats and herself.” According to the volunteers who posted her story online, Aunty Zhang picks up and adopts stray cats and kittens, many of which were found in rubbish bins near provision or coffee shops around her neighbourhood. Volunteers say that since the 1980s, she has found it difficult to turn a blind eye to these abandoned animals. Out of compassion, she brings them home to care for them and nurse the newborns. The animals currently under her care include six newborn kittens and a lactating mother, as well as mature cats over 10 years old. In order to cover the costs of feeding and caring for the cats, Aunty Zhang continues to work daily as a cleaner at a KTV lounge. She starts her duties only after the bar closes its doors at 3am, according to volunteers. As she does not have a family, she relies on sporadic donations, in cash or kind, to meet the costs. Her monthly rent alone comes to more than $1,000. Help Volunteers also help out by taking care of her cats in various ways. One volunteer obtains medication and helps with the sterilisation of the cats, while another contributes financially to help her with rent and cat supplies. Last Sunday, the Cat Welfare Society launched an online campaign to appeal for donations to help sustain Aunty Zhang’s kitten orphanage. The couple who set up the LiFelineSG page now arranges for potential adopters to visit Aunty Zhang’s home every Sunday afternoon. The plans by the volunteers to sterilise and rehome Aunty Zhang’s cats are the ideal solution, said the executive director of Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Ms Deirdre Moss. She told TNPS that there’s a limit to the number of cats a person can look after. “There would be a maximum number that she can keep so that the cats can receive the necessary quality of life, which includes health care and veterinarian care.” Ms Moss noted that while Aunty Zhang has good intentions, she doesn’t have the means to cope with so many cats. “The initial intention is to help, but if she keeps too many, it could backfire. It is evident that she can’t cope, that’s why the volunteers are stepping forward to help.” Source: Asia One
TODAY | Feb 10, 2011
It is not just about animal hoarding… Neo Chai Chin
SINGAPORE – The family shut the doors and windows of their HDB flat for five years when neighbours complained to the authorities about them rearing cats in 2005. Then last June, the younger son of the family was spotted abandoning a cat. The Cat Welfare Society (CWS) was tipped off and subsequently discovered more than 30 cats in the four-room flat in Tampines. Some were underfed and in poor condition and it was apparent to CWS volunteers that the family could ill-afford to care for the cats properly. Keeping animals without the ability to care for them adequately – this distinguishes animal hoarders from animal lovers with multiple pets, say animal welfare groups here. Cats – which are not allowed to be kept in HDB flats – appear to be the most commonly hoarded creatures. The CWS encounters about one case each month – and the Tampines family’s case is the most complicated one so far, said its president Fareena Omar. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has encountered about 12 hoarding cases in the past two years, also of cats. The House Rabbit Society of Singapore has encountered two cases in eight years, while Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD) has not encountered hoarding cases in the past three to four years. The worst case seen by ASD happened about four years ago, with an elderly man keeping 13 to 14 dogs in a rented bungalow, said ASD president Ricky Yeo. “Some ended up fighting and had injuries. They were skinny, with festering wounds,” he said. Animal abusers can be fined up to $10,000 or jailed up to 12 months, or both, if convicted, said the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA). Investigations into an animal hoarding case it encountered last year are in progress, the AVA said. While animal hoarding appears uncommon, SPCA executive director Deirdre Moss believes the problem is probably “bigger than what we see”, due to unreported cases. CWS’ Ms Fareena said with the pet trade growing, more cases are bound to come to light. Inter-agency cooperation and dedicated volunteers and counsellors are needed to help animal hoarders, said Ms Fareena. “In such cases, the authorities should delve deeper into the family’s physical and mental health and get other agencies to help rather than just give a warning or eviction letter, which doesn’t solve the situation,” she said. The animal hoarders are usually afraid of the law and could isolate themselves from the world when neighbours complain – exacerbating their plight, said Ms Fareena. In the case of the Tampines family, CWS volunteers slowly befriended the family and helped them “come to terms with relinquishing their cats”. Some of the cats have been sterilised and are now being found new homes. CWS volunteers have also donated furniture and approached a family service centre to help the family explore various financial and other assistance schemes. Hoarding – whether of living or non-living things – could be part of mental conditions like obsessive compulsive disorder or schizophrenia, said consultant psychiatrist Nelson Lee of the Psychological Wellness Centre. In such cases, medical intervention is needed. For less serious cases, some counselling on dealing with the grief of separation from the animals and preventing a relapse of hoarding could suffice, said Dr Lee. “Whatever triggered (the hoarding), if left unattended, will probably be like going through a revolving door – with new animals being hoarded the next time round,” he said. No two cases of animal hoarding are the same, said SPCA’s Ms Moss. Often, only what is seen on the surface – animal hoarding – is acknowledged, instead of the underlying mental problems. While groups like the SPCA “can try to address the animal welfare problem through education and advice”, mental health professionals will be needed to assess extreme cases and work with all parties to improve the situation, she said. Source: TODAY