Stray cat makes heck of a mess

Ivan:

I just got back from a brief overseas holiday and finished checking some 70 over emails that came in my six days of absence.  I saw this letter to the Straits Times that Sarah just emailed over. 

Basically, the writer complained about a cat who came to poo outside her home, about feeders who did not heed her advices and about her Town Council. 

If you are a caregiver from the mentioned area, perhaps you can speak to the Town Council to find out more about this case and offer help if necessary (before the cats get culled).

ST forum: Be Compassionate to Animals Too

Sarah:
ST forum carried a nice letter about ACRES

More letters to ST by same person

Ivan:

Referring to the letter to Straits Times forum by Tony Tan about the Class 95 DJs remarks on the Morning show, SPCA issued a reply to Tan on 16 May that feeding strays is not a cruel act as he has said. 

Anyways, Tan is up to another issue again and you can find his letter here in response to this report on Straits Times. 

Letters to Mypaper

Sarah:

Choi Wah alerted CWS and various others to two letters in Mypaper, 14th May 2008.

(Click for the large pix)

Basically, there are two letters. One seems to be inspired by the Class95 DJs comments. A Ms Florence Goh Gek Siok says that while she does not condone killing animals, she feels that feeding cats has caused the population to explode. The increased population results in a neighbourhood nuisance, such as water bowls left unattended, cat faeces left in flowerpots, and of course, the good old car scratching accusation.

Class 95 calls for fines for cat feeders

Ivan:
Just got word today from an ex-committee member who said that her mum heard the Class 95FM’s Morning show. DJs, Glenn Ong and Flying Dutchman were talking about stray cats again. This time, they compared feeding of stray cats to the feeding of monkeys. They added that cat feeders should be fined heavily as their monkey feeders counterparts. The DJs also said they have seen people feeding many cats and stray cats mess up the rubbish bin and leave their poo around. They were inviting listeners to send in sms or call in till 10am today (7 May). CWS is drafting a letter to the local press to address this issue.

Note from website editors: This is not the first time Class 95 has expressed themselves in this fashion. There was the 2003 incident, where the same DJs suggested that cats should be drowned en masse, or sent to Peru to be eaten. In 2007, the same DJs spread inaccurate information about community cats, undermining the goals of animal welfare activitists.

ST forum 30 April 2008: Rat Problem - Town Council shld be more responsible

Sarah:

There’s a letter to the ST forum today. Basically, the writer is complaining about a rat in her house, and the reactions of the town council. Apparently, they informed her at first that the rat was in her house, and therefore her concern, not theirs. The writer, of course, commented that the rat came from outside her house, which made it town council’s concern. Thankfully, the town council realised that as well, and send pest busters down to deal with it.

What I liked was that a forum commenter pointed out that the situation could be avoided if there were a couple more community cats hanging around the area! Cats don’t actually have to catch rats to keep them away. Rats and lizards can sense when a cat is around, and generally move elsewhere. So when you kill the stray cats in one neighbourhood, you’re actually opening the door to another lot of pests.