Any pet owner will know the huge responsibility and time that goes into taking care of just one pet. But what about 34 cats?
Recently, a Facebook post was made by Mdm Susan Lee who was referred by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) to check on an unemployed elderly couple in their 60s.
On a scheduled visit, she realised that the couple has been taking care of 23 cats and 11 kittens in their rental apartment.
Although the elderly couple probably had the best of intentions, the conditions they lived in weren’t exactly ideal.
Cats need a clean and comfortable environment to thrive in. However, Mdm Lee found that the environment that the cats were living in was “terrible”.
What’s worse is that the cats were lacking basic necessities like food.
Without food, the mother cats were so skinny that they could not produce any milk for the kittens.
After talking to her friend, Mdm Lee decided to take away all 11 kittens as they would die if they were left with the elderly couple.
She left the adult cats at the flat and is currently arranging for their sterilisation at a later date.
As money is an issue, Mdm Lee is looking for donations to pay for the cats’ expenses.
The cats require medical attention, milk, adult food, sterilisation, and transport fees all of which comes up to quite a hefty amount.
If you want to provide monetary aid, you can do so in either of 2 ways.
After your donations, be sure to let Mdm Lee know by dropping her a text at 9766 9356.
If you are unable to donate, Mdm Lee also mentions that simply sharing the post could go a long way as well.
Even though Mdm Lee has the best intentions, it may not be the best course of action.
A netizen believes that the owners are unable to take care of the cats.
Donations are only a short-term measure and surrendering them to the relevant authorities is a better option that takes the cats’ welfare into consideration.
If you encounter similar cases in the future, you can notify Animal & Veterinary Service here. You can also inform MSF if you know of any elderly that require aid here.
We certainly don’t condone hoarding too many pets beyond your means to care for them.
But in this case, due to the staggering number of cats involved, we hope a solution is reached so that their welfare – and the elderly couple’s needs – are prioritised before anything else.
What do you think should be the best way to help these animals & the elderly couple? Let us know in the comments below.
Featured image from Facebook.
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