New Year, New Website, New Beginnings

Li Tin:
Happy New Year and our official website is finally revamped!

Now featuring an automated, easy-to-use system for the Public Adoption Bulletin Board, fosters can now post their notices without having to email our adoptions volunteer, Sophia.

Please note that we do not know the fosters nor the adopters, so please, do screen your potentials carefully!

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We now have a more interactive FAQ section for most of your general queries. If you have some special enquiries that is not featured on the site, please email info@catwelfare.org and we will attend to you as soon as we can.

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Keep yourself updated with our upcoming events and roadshows with our new Events page in an easy-to-view calendar format.

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We are still adding in functions and minor tweaks to the pages, so if there is any problem that you faced with the website, please email litin@catwelfare.org.

>>> But with the improved functionality on the official site, this would mean that our blog will be shifted over as well. As of now we will cease postings on this WordPress blog. Please head over to http://www.catwelfare.org now!

Goodbye and Happy New Year!

Ivan:

I have just served my last day with Cat Welfare Society.  It has been a pleasure working with caregivers, businesses and the committee with regard to helping community cats.  I will cease my blog entries as of today.  I take this opportunity to wish everyone a fruitful New Year!

Bishan community cat hit by car: finding its caregiver

Ivan:

Someone wrote to us saying that a kitty was hit by a taxi.  Both its hind leg were injured.  The witnesses tried to send the kitty to the vet but the kitty went to hide under a slope.  Do you happen to know the caregiver there?  Maybe the person could help lure the scared kitty out.  It is hiding at the slope near the back gate of Scouts Association, located near Blk 117 Bishan St. 12.  The person did not give us a description of the cat so this is all the info I have.  If you can help or know the caregiver, please email to info@catwelfare.org so that Wiggie who is in contact with the referring person, can link you all up.  Thanks!

Cat Welfare Society on Facebook

Ivan:

Our Media Head, Li Tin has created a Cat Welfare Society group on Facebook.  This is something new for us and so we invite you on board if you already are on Facebook.  Please do upload some photos of your community and pet cats when you join us =)

Cats Day at Suntec City this weekend

Ivan:

Cat Welfare Society wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a long weekend holiday.  If you are in town this weekend (27th and 28th December), check out the LPN Kids’ Party cum Cats Day at Suntec City, Happy Kidz Atrium Level 3 from 10am to 6pm.  There will be a few cat related groups present.  Hope everyone have fun there!

Poor Kitty – Tanjong Katong Case

Ivan:

Here’s the latest update about the Tanjong Katong case:

The kind lady wrote to Salina and myself saying that she has to send kitty to vet’s clinic to have the tail amputated.  Earlier, lady noticed that after the rescue surgery, the tail always blue and cold.  After the vet’s assessment, it was confirmed the tail has to come off and kitty was given a surgery date.  However, the lady noticed that the kitty has been trying to chew its dead tail off and it might be a very bloody affair.  And so she is trying to shift forward the appointment date.  Below are the photos of little Lubbah (she is now given a beautiful name) and her tail.  It is sad that she has to lose her beautiful long tail due to someone’s senseless act of tying rubber bands on her tail.  Hope the abuser can be put to justice soon.

ST World News: Beijing pet lovers slam cat-eating

Ivan:

The Straits Times on today (20 Dec 08) ran the above piece of news on page C6.  What happened was a group of 40 animal lovers in Beijing staged a protest insisting the southern Guandong province stop the “shameful” and “cruel slaughter” of cats for food.  According to the news, thousands of cats across the country have been caught in the past week by traders and transported to Guandogng to be killed for food.  The group was very angry because the cats are being skinned and then cooked alive. The group wants the provincial governement to crack down on these cat traders and cat meat restaurants, however, the province has no legislation preventing cat eating.  Of late, cat-nabbing syndicates from Hunan have started rounding up cats.  Some of these cats are people’s pet.  Economic situation appears to drive these people to steal others’ pets and sell them for money. 

Hopefully, the province in China can have some legislation to stop this sick practice of eating cats which is worser now since some Chinese (in Guandong) believe that this Cantonese cuisine is extra nutritious in the winter time.   Here is the original news source.

ST Online Forum: Time to revive Stray Cats Rehabilitation Scheme

Ivan:

Phyllis just shared with us this letter she wrote to the Straits Time.  It is great that she has decided to write this timely letter to bring back the Stray Cats Rehabilitation Scheme that was discountinued years back. 

I found this letter online that was drafted by SPCA in 2007, and it was sent to the Straits Times in response to an earlier letter that Dr. Tan Chek Wee wrote to the press on the same matter as Phyllis has advocated.

Tanjong Katong Case: Photos of kitty’s injured tail

Ivan:

About the Tanjong Katong abuse case, the kindhearted lady just sent to Salina and myself photos of the abused cat’s tail.  This one shows the kitty’s tail when it was attended to at the clinic.  You can see the deep cuts that the tightly bounded rubber bands have caused to the kitty’s tail.  I have got other photos of the kitty and it is very cute.  I just cannot believe that someone would do something to such a cute looking and friendly kitty. 

Brochures

This is the balance for the upcoming TNRM workshop on Saturday. Some have been passed to a care-giver just now for an RC event.  It was certainly heartening to learn that their RC is keen on educating people about community cat management through this event. The care-givers, on their part, are busy planning on ways to educate fellow residents about their work.

What was encouraging also, was the fact that this event was initiated by the RC – a very enlightened one, with volunteers who have done their own research on our website on the vacuum effect – in response to complaints about community cats.  In a way, it is good to carry TNRM one step further throught raising awareness – to educate others about its importance so that they would also come to know and understand about it. This initiative also demonstrates how the community is working together in a self-help manner to resolve community issues.