Manja, now a Love Kuching cat

Manja is a street cat from Choa Chu Kang who was recently diagnosed with cancer and given 6 months to live.

She is now here in our Love Kuching foster home.

Initially we worried that Manja would either not want to be an indoor cat, or get stressed out by our cats or the foster cats. Likewise we also worried our own cats will reject her and stress out. So we dedicated an afternoon to integrate Manja into our home, to see if Manja decides she wants to stay with us or not. Seems like her answer is yes. Our cats hissed and growled a bit at her but have decided to let her stay too - no vicious stalking from any of them.

She is able to walk and hop up and down from sofa or cat condo to floor. But she has found her favourite corner in our foster lounge near our sofa. The foster lounge's litter box is nearby too, which we have introduced her to. She is totally relaxing right now.

We will be fixing a follow up appointment for Manja at our vet soon. She wasn't dispensed any medication and does not require a special diet. Gave her some sardines earlier to whet her appetite, which she took a bite of. She is about 3kg, has poor appetite, and bald patches of fur loss. She had diarrhoea and vomitting when she was hospitalised but is all better now. Will report more on her treatment regime when we bring her to the vet within the next few days.

#AdoptAPetTues: All about Sapporo, white and tabby male kitten

Sapporo is one of four kittens rescued from a pest-control company in Ubi that trapped him and other kittens, housing them in a cage together in their pesticides storage room. He had cat flu' when he first came to us but after a course of antibiotics and medication is now totally recovered and looking for a forever home.

Sapporo is a white cat with tabby cap-and-saddle patches and a long tail with pink nose-leather. He is extremely Oriental in both looks and personality - long limbs, angular face, and loves to talk, jump around and play. He is now about 4 and half months old.

He is an extremely out-going boy who loves all cats his age and older, not so much the younger ones though he eventually gives in to younger fosters given time. He knows his name, and when scolded for breaking a house-rule, immediately stands down from doing something he shouldn't, like play with wires. Now he knows what an indoor cat should and shouldn't do and doesn't play with wires or climb on the stove top anymore. And despite being often chided during his house-training he still loves us humans so unconditionally. He does however love to climb and prefers being elevated to being on the ground. Closed or meshed windows definitely needed to keep him safe!

His favourite toys are catnip mice and ball toys and cardboard boxes. He has a cute habit of chirruping when he gambols about, giving a 'meeriaow' squeak when he leaps up from point A to B. He is also an extremely loud purring machine, he purrs even when we scold him, or simply sit near him. He knows when not to disturb us humans like when we are on the computer, but at bed time enjoys playing with our feet under the blanket!

Being very active most of the time, the best pictures of him are taken when he is asleep or half asleep! -

We would love to have Sapporo go to a good home. Do read our adoption information (right side bar) and contact us if you would like to love Sapporo for the rest of his life in your home.

Sapporo is litter-trained, on Taste of the Wild food, dewormed.

Make a Difference: Foster

Every day, homeless cats and dogs in need are euthanised unnecessarily simply because there is not enough space to shelter them all.

While not all stray animals need to be in shelters - this is an unrealistic and unnatural goal - there are many cases of animals in need of refuge from the streets but simply have no place to go. Some animals need a safe space to stay before they find a forever home. Others need to recuperate from illness or trauma before they go back on to the streets. And there are those that are healthy but cruelly abandoned pets and not suitable for the stray animal life.

There is currently a crisis of a lack of shelter space nationwide. Catteries are closing down. Resources are scarce. If you visit Cat Welfare Society's Special Appeals page, you will find endless calls for foster homes for cats truly in need.

While groups like us endeavour to stem this problem in the long run through conducting TNRM of stray cat colonies, educating as many people as we can through our presence, there is still an immediate need to help cats already suffering today.

Hence, this is a call for you. For you to consider fostering an animal in need. If you can take on the challenge to foster just one animal, it makes a huge difference. Not only to the animal in need, but also to set the precedence among your social network that fostering is not only doable, it is rewarding, fulfilling and educational. By fostering an animal in need, you are sending the message to those around you that fostering is a worthwhile endeavour.

Assess your own ability in order to decide who and when to foster. Some animals need just a few days of recuperation or care, others longer. Some are suspected missing pets with owners needing to be traced, others will require potential adopters coming to your home. Decide what you can handle, and stretch yourself a just little beyond your comfort zone. Speak to those who have fostered before. Find out as much as you can about the animal in need and what is required. Start with small steps.

If in doubt on where to start, write us an email. We are willing to share our own experience in fostering cats that will hopefully encourage you to make a difference by being a fosterer.

6-8 weeks

We need to find homes for Sapporo, Orion and Kirin within the next 2 months.

Kirin, classic tabby

Sapporo, white with tabby

Orion, white and black

Time is running short because cats are exponentially far less likely to get re-homed as they grow older.

In 6-8 weeks' time, the boys will be ready for neutering. If by this time no homes are found for them, we will be using our Sterilisation Fund to send them for neutering and release them back at Ubi Techpark where they were first rescued.

Until the 3 boys are adopted or released we will also not be able to foster any new rescued kittens, hence we do have to come to a point where such decisions need to be made in order for us to focus our resources on cats that are more in need.

As for Dusky, who is also nearing the end of her early kittenhood, she will have a harder time being a stray cat once again as she has been with us from a younger age. She is also naturally shy toward strangers and will not likely to be easily cared for by a community cat caregiver regardless of where we release her after neutering. Our hope is that she will be adopted and we will foster her until she finds a new home even if she becomes an adult cat with us.

Appeal for Manja, the street cat diagnosed with cancer

Manja is a stray cat who was recently found dehydrated and extremely underweight. Iva who lives in the same neighbourhood, brought Manja to the vet and she was eventually diagnosed to have intestinal cancer. Manja is now hospitalised at The Joyous Vet where she is on IV. Manja was given an x-ray during the weekend and there is fluid surrounding her abdominal area. 

Dr Jasmine Tan has advised Iva that Manja has at best 6 months left to live, much less if she were to be returned to the streets. In the meantime, she will also need treatment in the form of chemotherapy. We hope to foster Manja for her remaining days at our Love Kuching foster home. Manja will also need to go to a different vet as The Joyous Vet has limited resources to treat Manja's cancer and I will be speaking to Dr Tan this afternoon to discuss Manja's treatment option henceforth.

In the meantime, Iva has used whatever funds she has to pay for Manja's veterinary bills, which so far has amounted to $350.11. Iva is appealling for kind sponsors who will be willing to help share the financial cost of Manja's veterinary care thus far. Here are the receipts verifying Manja's veterinary expenses to date.

To help Iva in sharing the cost of Manja's hospitalisation and tests, here is the information on how to give. Any amount will be greatly appreciated.




If you can assist, kindly send a donation to Cat Welfare Society:
Bank: DBS Current Account
Account number: 065 - 013507 - 8
Bank Code: 7171
Branch Code: 065

This should be accompanied by an email to specialappeals@catwelfare.org to inform of the transfer, headed with the title of the appeal as the subject header of the email, and indicating:

Name of donor:
Amount donated:
Transacting bank:
Transaction number:
Date and time of internet/ATM transfer:

All verified donations will be acknowledged by email. Once the required appeal amount is reached, the appeal will be closed.
Please note that any additional amounts or untraceable amounts collected will go to Cat Welfare Society's sterilisation fund.

On behalf of Iva and Manja we thank you for your generosity. Do also spread the word so we can help Manja live out her last days in dignity.

Update: Just spoke to Dr Tan from Joyous Vet. Manja's condition is now stable but she is not eating well. Not only is intestinal cancer confirmed, it may have spread to other organs which can only be determined by ultrasound at a hospital such as Mount Pleasant Stevens Road. Even without, at the current prognosis, chemotherapy will not be able to help Manja beat cancer. It is likely that we will not be sending Manja for chemotherapy since it will not kill the cancer and will definitely worsen her quality of life. Manja is likely to be discharged from Joyous Vet tomorrow and Iva will be bringing her to our foster home. Her next review scheduled for about 5 days after discharge, we will be bringing her to The Animal Clinic, where she will be going to from our foster home.

Another TNRM round at Upper Boon Keng

Earlier this year we conducted a TNRM round at Blk 15, Upper Boon Keng. It seems that the cat feeder there has either passed on or is no longer feeding, and Cat Welfare Society folks are looking for caregivers to take over. We will in the meantime check out the cat-situation there and conduct another TNRM round Thursday 21 October with Damy. Before Thursday we will visit the Upper Boon Keng neighbourhood for reconnaissance on Tuesday and Wednesday.

It's #Caturday! pics of sleeping cats

Rare moment of our Slinky and @sayangthecat snoozing together -

"Wassup, we be sleeping. Zzz..."

Orion, who is free-roaming the house, has been a good boy! Listens to instructions about house-rules. We grabbed him for an afternoon nap with us -

Orion asleep in our pillows

Dusky also joined us in our room for an afternoon nap -

Dusky asleep in our cat's basket

The rest of the foster kitties Whitey, Sapporo, Kirin and Helga are all asleep too! Have a great Caturday!

Goma and Jin passed away today.

Jin was found suddenly dead, no signs prior to his death of Fading Kitten Syndrome. He died the same way that Chi did. No signs of respiratory distress, likely cardiac arrest.

Goma was found in respiratory distress. I performed CPR on him, and during mouth-to-mouth resuscitation heard fluid in his lungs. I cleared the fluid from his lungs (turn upside down, grab by legs and shake, same as for drowning first-aid) and he expelled clear fluids. I rushed him to the vet, and in the cab he started to stop responding well to CPR. I gave him a nebuliser in the cab, and the cab uncle started to pray for Goma too. Goma made it to the clinic still alive. The vet checked him and found that his lungs were too full of clear fluid and his heart beat faded. He died in the clinic.

Goma and Jin join Chi over the rainbow bridge. 

The vet suspects it is something viral that is affecting this litter but the cause is hard to determine. They will continue to be on quarantine and under close watch. Death may occur anytime to Snowball and Whitey, the only 2 remaining.

Cat Litter

In choosing the right cat litter for your cat, there are a few parameters you need to compare each type of cat litter to, to determine which one will be the most beneficial to yours and your cat's needs.

I will expound on the different kinds of cat litter available in the Singapore market based on the parameters of:

• Ease of clearing
• Environmental-friendliness
• Cost-effectiveness
• Household cleanliness
• Safety of your cat

Just a note that some cat litter comparison charts compare how heavy the bag of litter is for you to carry, but we feel that to be a moot point - every bag of cat litter in bulk is heavy. So we will discuss the various types of cat litter based on the above parameters only.

Cat sand
This litter comes in the form of sand, made from clay. It is easy to clear because it clumps around pee and poo is covered in it when your cat digs the litter box, which makes it clean to scoop and dispose of in a trash bag. Unfortunately, it is not biodegradable, and cat sand cannot be flushed down the toilet. Also, clay is strip-mined, which means it is a depletion of natural resources. However, it is a cheap start-up form of litter, one bag which will last you for about a month per cat, is under $10. If you have one or two cats, stray litter out of the box is still manageable and easy to sweep up. More than 2 cats usually creates a mess around the the litter box which means sweeping or washing the area at least twice a day. Cat sand that has fragrances, while it makes for great household smell management, is derived from chemicals that may be harmful for your cat. Also, as the sand tends to clump around your cat's paws and ingested when they clean themselves, it is poisonous to your cat.

Conclusion: Great for a single-cat household, harmful to the environment, cheap, harmful for your cat.

Silica cat litter
Silica is made from cut glass and is meant for superb odour and moisture absorption. Depending on the brand - some may be mixed with clay - it may or may not be clumping litter, so ease of scooping will depend on that factor. It is non-biodegradable and cannot be flushed down the toilet. It is slightly more expensive than clay. Likewise it is easy to clear up around the litter box, and there is no tracking. It is rather harmful to your cat as it is made of cut glass, meaning glass shards will get caught in your cat's paws when they use it.

Conclusion: Good odour and moisture control, harmful to your cat.

Recycled paper pellets
Made from recycled paper, absorbs moisture. It does not clump and clearing it is more troublesome, usually all the litter needs to be thrown out and replaced. It is biodegradable and can be flushed down the toilet. It is more expensive than sand-based litter but it is light to carry in bulk sizes, which makes it still cost-effective. It has no tracking, seldom gets kicked out of the box, but is poor in odour management. It is totally safe for your cat even if ingested.

Conclusion: No mess, poor odour control, difficult to scoop, environmentally friendly, safe for your cat.

Clumping paper pellets
This kind of cat litter is only available in Pet Lovers Centre. Those with carbon centres in the pellets have superb odour control. The pellets swell and clump together upon contact with moisture, making it very easy to clear. It is biodegradable, and can be flushed down the toilet. It is however significantly more expensive than cat sand, about twice the price. Mess outside the box is easier to clean up than sand, however if the floor is wet, the pellets turn sticky and get stuck to the floor. It is safe for your cat as it is made of organic material.

Conclusion: Safer clumping option to cat sand, environmentally friendly, expensive.

Pine pellets
Made from recycled wood, it has superb odour control as pine is a natural deodoriser. Upon contact with moisture, the pine pellets turn to dust, which means your litter box needs to have a sieve at the bottom so that the dust will remain covered and not exposed to the air. It is easy to clear pee deposits - they turn the pellets to dust at the bottom of the sieve portion of the box which need only be cleared once a week per cat. Only poo needs to be cleared daily; however the litter does not clump around the poo. It is biodegradable and can be flushed down the toilet. It costs slightly more than cat sand, but can last for a much longer time than sand as there is less wastage of litter being thrown out during scooping. The mess around the box is easy to sweep up, and is only dusty if your litter box does not have a sieve-bottom for the dust to percolate downwards when your cat digs the litter. It is safe for your cat as it is made of organic material.

Conclusion: Requires a litter box with a sieve bottom, superb odour control, cost-effective, safe for your cat.