Fleas and ticks

This will be pretty useful if it works and isn't too expensive. - a once a month pill to prevent fleas and ticks.

ST (21-6-09)

Most of you have already probably seen this - was away and had no access to my PC over the last few days. Nice to see the work that animal welfare people are putting in and to see that more and more people are getting involved. I understand there was also another article from Tan Tuan Khoon basically rehashing the same thing - ie he is kind to kill the cats.

Mutts like me

I'm sure most of you are familiar with the now iconic poster of Barack Obama - here the same artist who drew the poster turns his attention to adoption. You can download the poster from this website.

Muttigrees

I like this idea - Mutti-grees. It also of course, encourages shelter animals being adopted instead of 'pedigrees'.

More sick cats

More cats sick - and now birds too! Hard to say if the person is trying to hurt the birds too or if what is now suspected to be poisoned food was just left around.

More sick cats?

This is definitely bad news. If you've read the article in the Straits Times today, one of the security guards was quoted as saying the cats have never been a problem. I did try and contact an ex-caregiver there but I haven't heard back from her.

Bayshore cats

This story was very worrying - wonder what happened to the cats and why!

ST (10-6-09)

Today's letter in the Straits Times brings up a good point - these dogs were microchipped but unlicensed. As imported dogs have to be microchipped, one wonders if someone at one point paid a great deal of money to buy these dogs, only to now abandon them. It also shows that you may have laws in place but without enforcement, it still isn't going to help curb abandonment.

Killing swans for conservation?

This was possibly one of the saddest things I've seen recently. Surely there's a way to handle the swans without having to destroy them? Plus there aren't many swans - if the population is decimated, then what happens next?

Vets and licensing

This was an interesting article about a veterinarian who was suspended in Maryland. I think most vets in Singapore do a great job - but it's always good to have some sense of accountability. Should one encounter a vet who is negligent or callous, it would be good to have some recourse. I thought that it was a good idea to have a vet licensing body whom clients could complain to, and that there are certain ground rules. Of course, I am sure this body would investigate and be fair to both sides - clients and vets.

Currently, from what I understand the Singapore Veterinary Authority cannot censure a vet - and licensing is done by the AVA.

I think it would be good to have some guidelines on what clients can expect, and also allow clients some recourse without necessarily having to take a vet to court in case of negligence. It also helps that some things are spelt out in the Maryland rules - for example, that a vet cannot deny you a prescription that is necessary to buy medicines at a cheaper rate. I think that right now in Singapore there is a bit of a grey area with many of these issues.

Cake

Cake, originally uploaded by dawnkua.

This is Cake, the resident cat of Books Actually. He isn't sterilised yet, but the lady in the shop says he'll be done soon. If you're at Ann Siang Hill, drop in and say hi to Cake!

Cats and predation

Another 'cats kill birds' video. Do some cats kill birds? Undoubtedly - some birds kill birds too. The problem I think is that many people don't really understand how TNR works - it's not abandonment. It's not that the cats could then be 'rehomed'. They either live on the streets or they die.

As for the question of predation, honestly, most cats are pretty clumsy. the numbers that are thrown around - millions of birds killed - have never been substantiated. If they are such efficient killers, then why aren't we getting bird carcasses every day from the cats we care for?

I love birds - and have feeders out for them too, and I've never seen my neighbor's cats even get close to nabbing a bird.