Monkey and Kitten

A sweet story about a monkey that has adopted a kitten!

Petting your kitty

I thought this was very amusing (and somewhat true!).

Vagabond Cat

A sad and lovely piece about saying goodbye to a beloved cat - something all of us can sympathise with.

Oscar

Oscar, the cat at the nursing home who seems to know when patients are going to die is the subject of a new book. Here's an excerpt - it's interesting that the relatives say that Oscar seems to be there as much for them as for the dying patient.

Toilet training

If you've ever wanted to toilet train your cat, this might be of interest to you.

Cat in the MRT

More on the cat in the MRT station. It does seem that the SPCA has gotten similar calls in the past - so hopefully it was a lapse in this case, and that there really is a system in place.

Now it appears that someone claims that it was their community cat - though I haven't seen the caregiver's name mentioned in any report till today. There are no other details - like for example, why there doesn't seem to be any mention of the caregiver being in the station looking for the cat when the writer of the letter was there - so perhaps there may be other circumstances we are not aware of. Otherwise, it is surprising because I wonder why the caregiver waited to come forward.

Again, please remember, time is of the essence if you lose a cat. Look for it right away. The longer you wait, the more likely it is you're not going to find your cat again.

Cat in cinema

I'm sure some of you have received the email about a cat that was stuck on the roof of an abandoned cinema along with a link to an earlier blog post of mine. I was sent the email as well by a few people. Fortunately the cat has been rescued. Unfortunately, it seems that the situation there has not been resolved though I have not heard from the people involved for a while.

There was also no link to my followup blog posts which are here, here and here. This may give an incomplete picture of what has been happening - or at least what was happening when I went down almost two years ago.

The person who contacted me about this case was helping out but wasn't the feeder and thus was limited in what he could do. The management had gone down a few times and opened the place up - but unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an attempt to plug up the holes. The building was also apparently in bad condition and would be unsafe to walk into.

Worse, at least when I was there, at least one feeder was still feeding the cats inside by throwing food in. The woman I met was worried that the cats would be hungry, but throwing more food in does nothing but encourage the cats to stay in, especially when the doors were open as on the day I went down.

Obviously, thinking long term - ie how to keep the cats out - is more important than the short term, ie the cat is hungry. To that end, it would have certainly been better if there had been attempts to try and work with the management to prevent the cats from going in. Perhaps it was done, but the feeders I did meet did not seem very interested in that.

Whatever the case must have been, unfortunately because there doesn't seem to have been a long term fix, this means that this has been going on for years. I am also pretty sure the management will have long lost patience by now if the problem has been reoccurring.

Most cat friendly cities

This was a very interesting article sent in via Yskat - these are cities in the US that were listed most cat friendly (albeit tongue in cheek).

Thanks also to tarsiergirl for sending this article in on quarantine procedures. I'm so happy to hear this!

Injections

The decision on whether to vaccinate yearly - and how often to vaccinate your cat rages on. However this is an interesting article about injection site sarcomas. One of our cats used to get a lump after his annual vaccination. It's worth asking your vet to consider this when they inject your cats.

Bat Cat

This cat really is a very unusual mix!

Does this look like a suffering cat to you?

Cat lolling, originally uploaded by dawnkua.

Thank you Chinky for sending this to me.

I seriously doubt that putting an animal down is 'humane' just because community cats MAY have a shorter life. Also if cats on the street have a tough life, then shouldn't we be kinder to them instead of killing them?

If one follows this argument to its logical extreme, then if for example there are children who live in slums and have a tough life, ought they to be killed? Certainly they are in all likelihood more inclined to live shorter lives than the rest of us, because of hazards on the street as well. If you follow this warped logic, then charities who help to alleviate their suffering, educate these children, and try and feed and clothe them ought to be closed down. Instead the children should be killed! Does anyone seriously believe that?



Let's not forget people who are genetically predisposed to a terminal illness. Following this logic again, hey they should be killed! Not only are they very likely to suffer, they are almost certainly going to live shorter lives. If we take this ridiculous argument to its conclusion, then all these people ought to be dispatched with, pronto.

We can't predict life, nor the quality of life. Are most cats on the streets happy? Yes - unless they are ill-treated, abused or caught to be killed. And many of these cats actually live very long lives - I would argue that very often their lives are cut short precisely because they are caught and killed. If left on their own, they would live out their normal lifespans. It's not unusual at all now to see community cats that are older, healthy and well taken care of. With concerned community caregivers, many are given vet care and good nutrition. If the people trapping them, or calling up to complain about them would just leave them alone, then they wouldn't have miserable lives.

Want to be truly humane? Start a TNRM programme.

Cat

Cat, originally uploaded by dawnkua.

There was an article in today's Straits Times about building more studio flats for the elderly. It's good that more attention is being paid to our aging population. There is however one area where more could be done, with very little time/effort invested.

I went with the ex-adoption volunteer to visit this cat and the gentleman the cat lives with yesterday. The man is blind and has diabetes, and Chinky was kind enough to ask for some help to supply the man with some cat food and necessities.

The man lives alone in a small flat - his whole world is basically contained in one room. The cat is his only companion and he looks after it very well. Apparently, as was reported in the papers a while ago, the cat does the same - when the man fell, the cat ran to get help.

At a time when we our population is aging, doesn't it make sense to allow companions for our older citizens like this man and his cat?

"Relocating cat"

A good post sent in by Chinky - thanks Chinky. It refers to a letter sent in today apparently by the HDB saying that the cat would be 'relocated'. Relocation doesn't work as the blog writer noted - the problem is that it doesn't stop the owner from being irresponsible if that is the case. It does mean that there's another quick band-aid solution, without solving the inherent problem.

I think the main problem is that no wants to take on the cat issue because it means more work for them - the TCs don't want it. HDB doesn't want it. Just because it's unpleasant or means more work doesn't mean that it should be ignored - regulation of cat ownership, not a ban is probably going to result in LESS work overall, because there are likely to be less complaints. This is because (1) cat owners who have guidelines now are more likely to follow them as opposed to now, where anything goes and (2) people will stop complaining for frivolous reasons - or at least these complaints can be ignored if there is no good reason for them. Right now HDB deals with repeat complaints with no merit just because a cat is present.

Willa Catter

I met this lovely cat, Will Catter at a bookstore. She is the official bookstore cat. I bent down to speak with her (and she was appropriately enough in the animal section) and she jumped right into my lap! So lovely to see stores with animals.

Dewey

Dewey, originally uploaded by dawnkua.

I read this lovely book over the last few days. It's about a little cat that was found dumped in a bookdrop of a library on the coldest night of the year and how he became not just the library's mascot, but the town's symbol.

Dewey wasn't an extraordinary cat in that he didn't do special tricks or save babies from burning buildings - but he did have a huge capacity for love and that was what set him apart. He eventually became famous all over the world and brought fame to his town of Spencer, Iowa.

It's an easy read and a heartwarming book about how a cat (and a small kindness) can change lives - and especially the life of Vicki Myron who wrote the book about him.

A big thank you to Anna from Hachette Book Group who sent me the book to review.

Cat walled in

Interesting story about a cat walled in for 7 seven weeks. This is not the first case of a cat I've heard of that has been stuck for weeks in a place. Most cats are actually lost quite close to home - so it's good to concentrate your search around your home if you ever lose your cat.

Pet cremation

It's good to know that people care about their animals as part of the family and want them to have a good send off too. At the same time, I believe it's more important to care about them and spend time and money on them (and with them) before they go. I knew someone who kept asking what to do for the cat's burial and for the cat's remains before finding out what was wrong with the cat and whether it could be saved (for the record, when the cat was brought to the vet and treated, it got better and is now fine).

I know some caregivers will cremate the cats, and I can understand that. After all, everyone wants to honour a deceased loved cat. However it can be a very expensive proposition. If it's at the expense of the other community cats, then I think that it would be best to spend the money on the other cats that are alive in the colony. Those few hundred dollars could do a lot for the other cats who could benefit from the money.

Princess Chunk

This cat is certainly overweight - and while some people think fat cats are cute (I plead guilty), there is such a thing as TOO fat. This cat can barely walk. Bear in mind that cats that are overweight are more inclined towards diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes and heart problems and make sure to put your cat on a diet if it needs one. How do you know if your cat is overweight? Check out this link.

Also please remember - keep your cats in. They could get lost easily otherwise.

Muhammad Ali Cat

Something amusing for a Friday.

Why a Cat?

This is a lovely post sent in by Chinky from a gentleman who took in a community cat in danger. Here are his reasons for why to adopt a cat.