Caregiver asking for help with trapped cat

Ivan:

We got an email from a caregiver saying that she needs our help because her Town Council has sent in the Pest Control to some blocks in her area again.  They caught an unsterilised cat yesterday and she claimed that the Pest Control left the cat in the van without food and water, and did not send to AVA until this morning.  Another caregiver has called the Town Council up but the Officer she spoke to was reluctant to release the cat. 

I shared with her that in order for cat to be release from AVA (if it goes there), it is necessary for caregiver to obtain a letter from his or her Town Council.  In cases where the discussion with the property officer fails, caregiver can go one level higher to meet the property officer’s boss.  It is pertinent always to emphasize on the fact that you are actually helping the community in sterilising the community cats to keep the community cats’ population down and feeding is done responsibly.  In all circumstances, maintaining calm when speaking with the boss is important.  It might be good too to show the property officer or the boss your community cats population statistics of your own area (CWS has such a form under our resouces page); to show that what you are doing is effective in keeping the population of the community cats down.

If any cruelty by Town Council or Pest Control is observed and caregiver has evidence, one can report to SPCA and the Police.

Flyers to promote responsible feeding

Ivan:

A caregiver helping some cats in the eastern part of Singapore contacted me yesterday.  She is experiencing a serious issue of irresponsible feeding and is concerned the Town Council might act soon about that.  And so she asked if CWS has responsbile feeding brochures and she needed them quickly.  We do have some left in our warehouse and you are welcome to write to us at info@catwelfare.org to request for some.  Meanwhile, Singapore Cat Message Board has some ready ones for all to download.  You can visit the Flyers page at here.

Today: Where’s the ‘heart’ in heartland? 25th June

Sarah:
Helga sent in a very nice letter to Today. You can look at it
here.

She says that the caregivers in her area have been working hard at establishing bonds between the community. However, she noticed that there have been problems with the local town council, who trapped sterilised cats and released them elsewhere. This has caused a lot of pain for the poor caregivers, who are left wondering what happened to the cats.

Essentially, her point is this: the caregivers have been heeding the government’s call for active citizenry, and have been fostering community and social cohesion. Despite this, why is it that the people who complain about cats are considered so important, that their complaints are addressed immedietely? Surely the people who have been helping out in the community - like the caregivers - are the ones who should be respected as well.

She’s not asking for caregivers to be given more respect. She just wants them to get what everyone else gets - the respect of being a member of the Singaporean community.

There are stray cats

Sarah

Sometimes we get complaint letters from residents, forward to us from town council. Those aren’t easy to deal with, for a few reasons. One - because some TCs think that we are somehow responsible for every stray cat in Singapore, so therefore we can take care of all the stray cats. Two - because sometimes people want instant solutions that don’t exist. Three - because TCs have their own KPIs, which means giving people instant solutions if possible. Many of these situations are valid, which is why we try to find a amicable solution.

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.

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.

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.