Postal workers and dogs

My own theory as to why dogs bark so much at postal workers is that they come at usually very predictable times and while they are 'strangers' they don't seem to pose much of a threat. So the dogs feel free to bark at will!

Elections and cats

I was speaking to a caregiver the other day who said that she had been trying in vain to get her town council to meet with her. There had been complaints which she and various other caregivers and residents in the area had been trying to resolve. However the town council had threatened to send in pest control.

While lamenting with her on this turn of affairs, I said to her that with elections around the corner, the town council is probably going to put off meetings for the time being. She retorted that they're too busy to meet with her, but they're not too busy to arrange for trapping of cats!

Fortunately, she and the others have gotten a temporary staying of the trapping order (but still no meeting the last I heard). What she said was made me think. Why is it that caregivers and people looking after cats are always treated as if we matter less than people who have complaints? From what I understand, there was one complainant who did not want to see any cats in the area at all. On the other hand, there are many residents who want to meet up and resolve the problem AND they want the cats to stay. Yet they are being ignored.

So here's the thing - this election season, let our elected representatives know how we feel. We are not second class citizens who matter less than complainants, many of whom are not even held accountable because they are anonymous. Caregivers are committed, concerned and ready to help - so why are they treated as if they don't matter?

When candidates come around campaigning for votes, ask them what their stance is on community cats. How will they respond to anonymous complaints and round up cats to be killed? How about their stance on sterilisation and getting the old SCRS re-started in town councils? How do they feel about the HDB policy in relation to cats? Will they work to getting that law overturned?

I know that I am not alone in feeling that these issues are important to us. Are they more important than say the standard of living to most Singaporeans? Probably not. For those of us who care for community cats however, I would say that these are some of our most pressing issues. Will our community cats be safe? When we share our homes with beloved pet cats, will we worry that the HDB will come knocking and we might lose our homes?

With so many constituencies likely to be contested, many of us will get a chance to vote at this election. Vote in the people whom you think will represent what you care for most - for many of us, that would be our cats.

In a world where diseases seem to be mutating more than they used to, God forbid that we have another SARS-like incident. If we do however, I hope that our leaders will not respond with massive hysterical over-reaction but in a measured and logical manner.

When you vote, remember the cats.

Unlicensed animal trappers

Thanks to Siva for the link.

This is something that has always been a concern and has been brought up to AVA in the past. The SPCA has in fact also been urging the AVA to send people to be trained so that at least the animals would be caught without undue suffering. The AVA maintained however there were no licensing requirements and therefore anyone could trap cats and charge money for it. One isn't surprised that this happened - it was only a question of when it would happen.

Firefighter giving kitten oxygen

This is too sweet not to share. Sadly not all the other animals were so lucky.

Wellness recalled

I just found out about this food recall by Wellness. If you feed your cat Wellness, please do check that your cans are not within the lot affected. Here's a blog that writes about it too.

Custody over dog?

This story in the Straits Times about a dispute over a dog was going to happen at some point or other. With relationships between people and animals lasting sometimes lasting long after relationships between people have broken up, it was a matter of time before this came up. The judge's grounds for decision will make an interesting read. As much as the defendant's lawyer seem to suggest that emotion should have no place in this because animals are property, they clearly aren't. For one thing, if the dog was just a piece of property, one could possibly just order that one party pay the other monetary compensation - something which I am sure neither party would be happy with.

Also, if this is just a case of property, how much would the dog be worth? Bearing in mind the adoption fees and the cost of flying the dog back, quarantine, food, medical bills, etc, it's still unlikely that it would begin to approach the $250000 amount that it takes for a case to be tried in the High Court. Of course there are exceptions and the judge's reasoning will be most illuminating. It is arguable at least that the High Court heard this case because it is potentially a new area of law to be explored.

It would also be hard to imagine that two people would take a matter where a piece of property was involved up to the High Court. Would you go to the High Court, where costs are considerable, over a pen or a necklace, even if they were an expensive pen or necklace? It would probably be cheaper to just buy a new one. It's about time that this area of law was clarified - after all, for all of us, our animals are not just property.

Animals in Japan

I'm sure that everyone has been following all the news from Japan - the huge loss of lives, and now the worry that the nuclear reactor situation is going to get worse. Besides all the human tragedy though, quite a few people have asked what is happening with the animals as well. Here's a link from E_Cat on what to do if you'd like to help.

There is apparently a Cat Island too - though it seems that most of the human and cat inhabitants are safe though this cannot be verified.

For people who say that animals aren't important at a time like this, tell that to this guy.