Cats in flats finally???

It's been a long, long time since I posted here. I don't know if anyone will read this but this was such big news I wanted to pen some thoughts down anyway. 

 AVS is seeking views on finally changing the rule banning cats in HDB flats. This has been such a long outdated rule (and a personal bugbear), that I cannot believe it's still on the books. In addition, as Louis Ng said, the rule is not actively enforced - so why is it still around?

First and most importantly, please go and fill out the survey here asking for your opinion. It's open till November 2nd and every opinion supporting allowing cats in flat helps! 

 Warning : the survey is long - and it's actually about far more than just cats in flats. It covers issues of TNRM (which are just as important).

Secondly, kudos to AVS and NParks for taking this on. It's really encouraging to see that they are looking at animal welfare in a more holistic fashion. However the survey covers so many issues that it's often quite confusing. In addition, the questions are not necessarily very nuanced - there are however boxes for you to type in additional comments. Please do so!

Here are a few issues I personally found with the survey.

One, while there is some mention of licensing and microchipping of cats, there are very few details. For example, how many cats will be allowed? How will this number be determined? Will this apply to all housing or just HDB housing? Will the size of the premises matter? What if people have more than the maximum number of cats (there was some mention of the new framework being gradually implemented so hopefully allowance will be made for that).

I am glad to see that they are asking whether people who are fostering should be given an exemption as those aren't pet cats. Given how limited land is, it helps to allow fosters to legally temporarily house cats.

Further, I still don't quite know how TNRM is different from SCSP. SCSP is itself an updated Stray Cat Rehabilitation Scheme which was unceremoniously stopped in 2003 when SARS (the last SARS for those too young to remember) hit Singapore and cats were implicated without evidence. Heres a nice writeup. One issue is the question about whether caregivers/volunteers and commercial trappers should undergo training and certification. This is an additional burden for caregivers and volunteers who are already doing this with on their own time and who are not getting paid to do it. There are of course some cat trappers who are more experienced and who help out with especially tricky cats. I believe they should also be treated differently - most charge for just transport and for time spent. In addition, they are usually known in the community and have a 'reputation'.

Commercial trappers on the other hand, will trap basically for profit. There have already been instances where there has been alleged to be mistreatment with some of these companies and so they should undergo some kind of training to ensure that they know how to humanely trap a cat. The survey states that AVS will work with AWGs, agencies, as well as community groups, to enhance its rehoming networks and programmes to rehome the sterilised cats where feasible. The remaining sterilised cats will be released back to the community to live out their lives.

I don't believe rehoming should be the default for community cats - they have a home, and it's in our neighbourhoods. Of course there are cats that cannot be returned - they may be injured or unable to return or the area may be unsafe. However, removing all the cats after sterilisation will lead to a vaccuum effect - new cats will just move in. Allowing cats to remain where they are (and being managed and cared for by responsible caregivers) allows for a stable, managed population in the area.

Most importantly, I hope that the two issues don't get conflated - cats in HDB flats should not be seen to be a way to remove cats from the street. The law should change because it has never made sense. In addition, people already live in private apartments and houses who keep cats - so only people in HDB estates cannot. Why should this be so? Our Muslim friends and neighbours also cannot keep dogs - which are allowed under HDB rules. Why should they not be allowed to keep the pet of their choice if they should want to?

Having said that, I do think that these are very positive developments. I am looking forward to the day when cats can legally live in HDB flats and their owners no longer have to fear that they will fall afoul of the law.

Sterilised cats - decreased population

I was really happy to see this letter - and an acknowledgement that where sterilised cats are part of the community, the population has decreased!

Bookshop cats

I love bookshops with cats - and here are a great list of cats in bookstores. I like that there are now bookstores in Singapore with cats too :)

TNR in Israel

Nice to see this video and to see people doing TNR in different parts of the world.

Town Councils

Good letter on unreasonable complaints and how they should be ignored.

Cat stuck in Glue Trap

Here's more information on the poor cat stuck in a glue trap. One wonders what on earth they were trying to trap with a glue trap that large. Despite the fact that rodents MAY cause health problems, there is no reason any animal should be caught in a glue trap. Also, how does the AVA ensure that any other animals caught must be brought to the vet and/or rinsed off with baby oil? Glue traps should just be banned, period.

Glue Trap

Many of you have probably seen this posting off the SPCA's Facebook page about the cat stuck in the glue trap. Please do write in - not only to the AVA but also to your MP or to Khaw Boon Wan or Tan Chuan Jin to ask them to ban glue traps.

Bird 'nuisance'

Thanks to yskat for sending me this article. It's such a shame that birds are viewed as such nuisances that they are dealt with in this manner. I also did not realise they also shoot pigeons. Ironically, the photo of the bird posted on this page is also not a mynah, crow or pigeon. It is an oriole.

Why the cat craves mushrooms

Here's an interesting article about cats eating mushrooms. I know some cats do like strange foods - a friends' cats like iceberg lettuce for example. Are there things your cats like to eat which are out of the ordinary?

Walking Cats on Leashes

I know some cats that already walk on leashes but here's a good article if you're trying to see if your cat is a suitable candidate.

Local dogs to be let into HDB flats

It was lovely to hear that local dogs may also finally be allowed into HDB flats. The pilot project starts next year. It never made sense that dogs were excluded based on whether they were 'pure bred' and hopefully this will pave the way for more dogs to find homes.

Cats in flats finally?

It's good to know that there are now plans for more cat cafes in Chong Pang and that a pilot project may be run next month to allow cats in HDB flats there.

While is it better late than never, one wonders what exactly has changed to bring this about. Way back in October 2001, CWS had sent an earlier proposal in where another Town Council and CDC were interested in starting a pilot project. HDB's response then? That a pilot project would not be reflective of the long-term effectiveness of the measures on a nationwide scale.

One could make the argument that things are much better now - more cats are sterilised and people are more accepting of cats. However, while it certainly seems that more cats have been sterilised thanks to the hard work of caregivers (and this is reason enough to cheer), I don't believe people have become any more or less accepting of cats because I believe the number of people who were supposedly so intolerant of cats was small to begin with. CWS reports that their recent survey found that 85% of people were agreeable to letting cats remain in an estate if they were sterilised. Dr Lou Ek Hee's paper published in the Singapore Veterinary Authority's Journal in 2000 showed that 96% of people were supportive of the cats being allowed to remain in the community if they were sterilised.

Does this show that people are actually less tolerant now? I don't believe so. As I've often said, we can probably argue that a small minority of people don't like cats. An equally small minority really love them. The important thing though is that most people don't want cats killed - and this hasn't changed. Most people have no objections to cats in the estate if they don't cause any problems. Even if there are issues that arise from the cats, most people don't want the cats to be taken away and killed. So the issue here isn't that peoples' attitudes have changed.

One could argue that perhaps politicians are more enlightened now, or that the HDB officials in charge have become more understanding and compassionate. This seems to gain credence because of the sheer speed with which this policy change has come about once the elections were over. The worry about this argument is this : what if the winds of change blow back in the opposite direction again? Surely there must be some way of ensuring that policies are evaluated on their merits rather than on the opinions of the current office holder. We cannot always be crossing our fingers and hoping (as we do now) that the next official who comes in may support animal friendly policies.

I am very happy to hear that cats (or ONE cat - something I'm not wild about) may be allowed into HDB flats. I just wonder why this long outdated policy hadn't been changed years ago and whether responsible pet owners could have been saved years of anxiety and fear for doing absolutely nothing wrong.

Can animals grieve?

This looks like it'll be an interesting book on animals and whether they grieve.

Office Cats

Thanks Imp for the heads up. This is a lovely story on office cats. I don't think this is a new phenomenon (I know of several offices that had cats years ago) but it's still nice to see more local offices becoming animal friendly. Companies like Google even have a famous dog policy - unfortunately they do mention that cats might be scared of the number of dogs on the campus.

Cat found after 5 years - thousands of miles away.

Where did this cat go for five years? I know of someone whose cat returned after several months - but this is truly amazing. Also one wonders how it traveled such an immense distance.

Animals foretelling Earthquakes

Apparently the animals before the Asian Tsunami also exhibited signs that they knew that it was going to happen. They're an early warning system!

Cats and dogs mentioned in National Day Rally Speech

Thanks to Imp for the heads up on the National Day Rally where cats and dogs are mentioned. The Prime Minister mentioned that as society matures, he hopes that more and more things will be taken over by Singaporeans and not left to the authorities.

That's precisely what community cat and dog caregivers have been trying to do for years. They help to sterilise, manage and mediate - and they get very little support for doing so. Instead, roadblocks have been thrown up in their path.

While I am heartened to see that the Prime Minister has helped out in a case where a dog was caught, I am a little worried that he agreed that Ministers have more important things to worry about then cats and dogs. While I can see that in the broader picture, the Ministers have many things to worry about, I hope that this doesn't give the signal that therefore cat and dog issues should be put on the back burner. After all, these are really people issues too - it is about our environment and how we live in it. I'll post a link to the English transcript when it's out. Here it is.

Gathering support

I've recently learnt about a case where a previously successful TNRM programme seems to be in shambles. Several years ago, a condominium tried to outlaw cat feeding, among other things. However, there was a public outcry, and residents within the condominium spoke out against in.

In addition, the condominium decided to try and implement a TNRM programme. At the time, there were about 30 cats. The condominium management decided to fund the sterilisation of the community cats instead of spending the money (which worked out to a few thousand dollars a year) to trap and kill the cats.

At the time that I left CWS, the programme was still in place. There were some complaints, but the cats were all sterilised and the one recalcitrant feeder seemed to have been persuaded to stop. The last time I met with the management, we were told by some members on the management committee that they had seen a decrease in the number of cats and no new kittens born.

Unfortunately, as time passed, many of the caregivers moved out of the estate. I understand that now there are only 6 or 7 cats left - certainly a huge drop from the original pool of cats. However, at the last AGM, the management committee managed to change the bylaws to outlaw feeding by gathering enough votes to do so. They are not taking action against a feeder there.

This is something that is always a worry - that there are a few committed caregivers and that when they leave, the programme will fall apart. The idea of planning succession is a good one, but it isn't always easy to find someone willing to take over. Some of the time, no new caregivers come forward. On other occasions, the existing feeder doesn't like other people getting involved. Another huge problem is that while it is almost always possible to find feeders, finding caregivers isn't that easy - people either do not have the inclination, the personality or the time to be a caregiver.

What you can do however, if you are in an estate is to sign up with your Residents Committee or Management Committee. This will at least meant that you are in a position to influence what happens in your area. It also means that you are given a heads up should something be happening.

It's also a good idea to rally support early in your community. If you are a caregiver, note whom seems friendly and supportive and try and find a way to get in touch with them. It may be essential should you need to show that there are people who want to allow a TNRM programme to run.

Cat Massage

Here's a funny infographic sent by Candice.




Now to make my cats learn this :)

Native Species

I was excited about this encyclopedia when a friend told me about it yesterday but was very disappointed to read this article in the newspapers today.

I am glad that Dr Ng realises that sterilisation is the way to go, and that this will help keep the population in check. This is exactly why a sterilisation programme is so important. What is disturbing to me is the native species argument. The real impact as I am sure we can all agree, isn't cats or any of these other invasive species - it's humans.

I was just having a conversation with someone the other day and every time I come back to Singapore, the landscape has changed so much. New buildings have popped up. Some friends of mine who were away two years recently came back and couldn't recognise Singapore anymore. Is it really the non-native species that are causing these issues, or is it the fact that we are demolishing areas in order to find more space for people and our activities? If our native species are competing for food and space, then who takes away more food and space then we do? With an increasing population, and such limited space, cats are the least of their problems.