sundaymorningstaple wrote: ↑Fri, 01 Jul 2022 3:50 pm
Most house cats are not neutered or are kept indoors all the time (litter boxes only).
Eh, all the cat rescue groups in SG put sterilised cats up for adoption, even my cat that I adopted from a local rescue was already spayed. Even if you adopt a kitten, the adoption contract states you have to get them sterilised when they’re of age.
It’s those who buy “pretty” pedigree cats that keep them unsterilised and turn into illegal backyard breeders that abandon the cats once they are “no longer of use”.
It’s a bloody long complicated history and from my understanding, the ban happened ‘cos people back then did not understand how to keep cats responsibly and did not know the benefits about sterilisation.
If the cat is unsterilised and goes into heat, they will have the urge to roam and mark their territory, hence the stupid archaic reasoning by HDB that “cats are wandering animals by nature and cannot be kept indoors”.
The above has been DEBUNKED numerous times. Once a cat is sterilised, they no longer want to venture outside, no longer spray their pee, and don’t caterwaul. Even my own cats have no interest in going outside.
Studies have also shown if you don’t spay or neuter the animal, they have a much higher chance of getting reproductive organ cancer. Every time they go into heat, the risk of cancer increases.
Indoor cats live longer. Seriously, that’s a no brainer. Being outdoors means they can get hit by a vehicle, fall off a building, bitten by dogs/cats, accidentally eat rat poison, get infectious diseases, etc.
The rescue groups here also check all windows & doors in a potential adopter’s home are meshed before they let you bring the cat home. Seriously, this is also another no brainer. If you love the cat, keep them safe and mesh the windows so they don’t break their legs or spine. My husband who works in a vet hospital saw an owner surrender their cat that fell 8 stories ‘cos they couldn’t afford the bill. Lucky the cat is able to walk now.
Usually, unsterilised community cats are handled by the community feeders for TNRM (trap-neuter-release-manage), not NEA or pest control. There are responsible feeders and then there are bad eggs. It’s also another complicated story.
My understanding is that there are feeders that build very good rapport with the town council so whenever there are disputes regarding cats, the town council contacts the feeders first or Cat Welfare Society instead of pest control.
However, there are feeders that are frustrated that whenever election rolls around, a “new set” of town council staff comes in who are clueless about community cats, and they have to re-build rapport again. This happened with a Sengkang feeder I follow on social media when it changed from PAP to WP.
A cat
can be removed from HDB if the neighbours complain that the cat wanders into their homes and pees/poos indiscriminately. It has happened before. There was a case of an a**hole neighbour that tried to get someone’s cats removed even though the cats were strictly indoors.
I did talk to my neighbours that I will be getting a cat and the cat will not be let outside at all and the neighbours gave their approval.
Condos can sometimes be smaller than HDBs. If a cat can be allowed in a
condo, why can’t they be in HDB? Both are tall apartment buildings with doors & windows.
It all boils down to responsible pet ownership regardless if it’s a dog, cat, rabbit, bird, etc. I don’t advocate about getting dogs banned whenever I see dog poo that wasn’t cleaned up downstairs on a frequent basis.
It is irresponsible cat owners that make life difficult for me and other responsible cat owners.
Yes, my cats don’t know how to hunt either. A fly entered my home the other day and they didn’t know what to do with it. At least they won’t get parasites or have weird spiny legs stuck in their throat.