Outdoor access kills cats

Cats in Singapore are not safe at all outside of your house's four walls. Much has been expounded on on our blog regarding disallowing your cat outdoor access, yet many owners still do not realise this, so the message needs to be continually pushed through.

Did you know that if you allow your pet cat to roam outside your flat on the corridors or to go downstairs on its own - you are actually KILLING stray cats in your neighbourhood?

When neighbours complain about cats pooing on corridors, it is always because of pet cats that are allowed to step outside the main door of their flat because stray cats don't exhibit such behaviour. But these neighbours think it is the stray cats, so they complain to the town council about stray cats, and culling is carried out. So all the stray cats in your block get caught and put to sleep because YOUR cat pooed on the corridor.

Also, if you allow your cat to go onto the corridors you are exposing yourself as an irresponsible cat owner to your neighbours. If neighbours complain to HDB about you and your errant cat ownership, Cat Welfare cannot advocate for you to keep your cats if they are allowed on corridors, so your cats will have to be forcefully evicted from your flat.

Cats with collars but no tipped ears, sterilised or not, are liable to be put to sleep the very same day that pest control traps your neighbourhood strays to cull. Tipped ear cats are put to sleep within a week. Collars don't mean a thing. To rescuers like us, a stray cat with a collar means an abandoned cat unless it has an ID tag which we can call the owner to confirm. We will bring it for an ear tipping after letting the vet cut it open to check if it is neutered (if female, because x-rays and sonograms cost a lot more). Rescuers will take in such cats to foster and re-home. Either way, you lose your cat - if lucky, for a few days, if not, forever.

Also, your cat will get all kinds of sicknesses that outdoor stray cats have - FIV is enough of a killer to keep your cats indoors. If you don't mind killing stray cats, at least don't kill your own cat.

There are many ways to keep your cats indoors and not want to go outside of the house. Use the tips, and don't ever, ever allow your cat to even lounge on the corridor outside your house.