Lions killed by insecticide

Sarah:

The BBC carried a story about lions in Kenya that are being deliberately poisoned by insecticide. Apparently villagers and herders who find the lions dangerous are leaving poisoned animal remains.

Although it’s lions in Kenya, it’s very similar to the problems that we are facing in Singapore and in an urban environment. In Kenya, the herders and people have started moving into lion territory. As a result, the lion naturally looks for food (like buffalos, cows) that the humans own, or wanders into the villages. The herders get upset, and try to kill the lions.

Catfood and drinking water for cats left behind invite mozzies?

Ivan:

I caught this article on STOMP. Someone wrote that a cat feeder has been leaving cat food and water at the 2nd floor landing of his block. The writer said the water will invite mosquitoes and that led to a series of comments by readers. What are your personal views on this?

Meanwhile, if you are a caregiver, it is always good not to feed cats upstairs, and to clear up after feeding so as to avoid being fined for littering (which gets the cats into trouble too when complain comes in). At the same time, it might be good to feed at discrete corners of housing areas.

On the same note about inviting mozzies, apparently, this cat lover said that the anti mozzies sprays are killing stray cats too as mentioned here on STOMP.

Bad behaviour workgroup formed

Sarah:
There’s an article in the papers today, announcing the formation of a workgroup to look into dirty habits of HDB dwellers. They’re planning to look into bad behaviour that causes tensions, such as dripping laundry and littering.

I wonder if they’re going to include cat feeding as “bad behaviour”. Right now, I’m wondering if CWS should draft a letter asking that they look into irresponsible feeders. Of course, the end result is that they actually look into banning cat feeding completely.

Local news and letters

Sarah:

Wanbao had a report on the Class95 DJ incident. It came out on the 19th, Vesak Day. I can’t get a scan of it, so this will have to do. My Mandarin isn’t very strong, but essentially it’s a round-up of opinions about the issue of cat feeding.

Thank goodness for responsible feeders who sterilise

Sarah:
One of the cat feeders was approached earlier today by some unhappy neighbours. Apparently, a woman told her that the cats were scaring her, and wanted to make a complaint to both the police and town council.

The feeder acted sensibly, and explained to the woman about responsible feeding. The woman wasn’t happy though, and called her husband down to scold the feeder. In the end, the commotion grew, people started gathering, and the feeder had to call the police to help calm the situation down.

ST 20th May: Jurong dogged by strays

Sarah:
The Straits Times carried an odd story today about the stray dog problem in Jurong. The choice of headline “Jurong dogged by strays: Cat & dog lovers at odds” was a poor one, because it made it sound as if animal lovers were fighting with each other.

In the report, the reporter claimed that “Dog lovers do not mind them (referring to stray dogs), but cat lovers are hoping that life can be less of a hazard for the neighbourhood felines.”

Straits Times forum letter on Class 95

There’s a letter complaining about the Class95 djs in today’s online edition.

It’s great that people are speaking up. I like that the letter writer pointed out that the problem isn’t about cat feeding, it’s about irresponsible cat feeders. She even noted that people who feed irresponsibly aren’t doing it because they love cats, they’re doing it because they enjoy doing it, or just getting rid of food. Responsible cat feeders care about what happens to the cats, and clear up.

Small point of correction though - the letter writer mentioned that the Class 95 DJs said that the cats should be sent to Peru and eaten. However, this actually occured a few years ago. It’s possible that the letter was heavily edited by the Straits Times.

People are reacting in a variation of ways on the Straits Time forum. Some agree that responsible cat feeding should be allowed, but they’re concerned about cats poo-ing and pee-ing all over the void deck.

As most cat and dog owners know, that’s very unusual behaviour for a cat. Cats like dirt and soil for their toilets. I’ve raised orphan kittens before - when they were just four weeks old, they figured out what the litter tray was for, and refused to pee anywhere else. If there’s pee or poo on the void deck, it’s usually an irresponsible dog owner at work.

Me, Chocolate Chips & Furry Babies..

Lynn:

Some people may think I am “CRAZY” & many more have said I am “MAD”…Even MY FRIENDS who doesnt understand said I AM “SO OBSESSED”…But frankly, all that doesnt really matters to me and they can say whatever they want. Its just music to my ears..

Aljunied GRC raises conservancy fees because of littering

Sarah:
Apparently Aljunied GRC is raising its conservancy fees.

The interesting part is that they say it’s because there are many people littering, so they need to raise fees to clean up after them. Not sure why they’re doing that, since they seem to have very healthy reserves from all these years of collecting fees. I’m sure they’ve got a good reason.

However, it brings to mind a common complaint about cat feeders. Quite often, town councils get complaints from residents that cat feeders are littering, by leaving food for the cats. The cat feeders are supposed to clean up after themselves within two hours, but of course, some don’t. Many are responsible and do clean up, but the problem is that all the residents see is the feeder putting food down for the cats. They don’t hang around for two hours and see the feeder clear up.

That’s when it becomes a problem. Many people are fine with community cats, but most don’t like the idea of piles of cooked rice lying around that will attract rats or worse. That’s when they complain about the feeder.

Now, there are some responsible feeders out there. What they do is feed discreetly - either in the early morning, or late night, where they don’t attract too much attention. That way, residents don’t have to face leftover food on their void decks, and the feeders don’t get complaints about their activities. Everyone wins.

Of course, truly great feeders sterilise too.