‘Catnapper’ spotted forcefully catching a community cat in Joo Seng
Recently, a netizen voiced his concern for the safety of community cats in the Joo Seng area.
In a post on Instagram, Junior shared the viral video of a man furtively looking around before snatching a cat and placing it into the car boot.
Source: Sayang Our Singapore’s Community Cats
Despite explanations that the man was actually trying to bring the cat to the vet, Junior remained unconvinced of his intentions.
“I honestly don’t believe his nonsense,” said Junior to MS News.
Man places community cat in car boot
In his video, Junior asked netizens to rally together to expose the identity of the “catnapper” and bring his crimes to light.
He said that he “needs the help of every Singaporean” to “do their magic”.
Source: @juniorcheww on Instagram
Junior then shared the viral video which started by showing a man squatting beside a cat in a parking lot at 14 Joo Seng Road Blk 14.
Speaking to MS News, he said that he believes the incident occurred on 4 Sept.
Source: Sayang Our Singapore’s Community Cats
With a hand on the cat, the man looked around before picking it up and bringing it to his car.
Afterwards, the man pushed the cat into a pet carrier in his car boot, forcefully trying to shove it in as the cat struggled.
‘Catnapper’ claims he wanted to bring cat to vet
Later, Junior said that the cat managed to escape from the man and is now back in the community.
Source: @juniorcheww on Instagram
He told MS News that the feeders noted that the cat was hurt due to the rough handling of the “catnapper”.
Junior also added that the case had been reported to National Parks Board (NParks).
The man then told the authority that he wanted to bring the cat to vet as he saw that it was unwell.
NParks said the man is a community cat caregiver
In response to queries from MS News, NParks said that it is aware of the incident at Joo Seng Road.
After looking into the feedback, NParks said that the man is a “community cat caregiver”.
He had tried to remove the cat to bring it into a veterinary clinic after observing some injuries on it.
However, the cat managed to escape from the carrier, as Junior mentioned, and has since been observed at the same location.
Netizen not convinced by man’s claims
Junior, who received news of the case via a tipoff on social media, shared that the cat has been a mainstay of the community.
“He’s been in the neighbourhood for a long time and has frequent feeders who take care of him,” he said.
Ultimately, the concerned netizen doubted that the man in the video had good intentions.
Source: @juniorcheww on Instagram
At the end of his video, Junior urged netizens to find and bring justice to the “catnapper”, worried that other cats would get hurt by him in the future.
He added that anyone with information can directly message him on Instagram.
Netizens also suspicious, but some offer benefit of doubt
Similar to Junior, some netizens have questioned the man’s intentions.
One commenter called him “clueless” and said that the cat’s feeder did not manage to find the injuries that the man claimed it had.
Some netizens asked how they can contribute to reporting the “catnapper” to authorities.
They also questioned why there seemed to be a lack of official complaints.
Source: Instagram
However, a few netizens theorised that the man may have indeed been bringing the cat to the vet, with one netizen sharing their own “catnapping” experiences.
“The cat was quite feisty despite being unwell, so this needs more context,” wrote one commenter.
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Featured image adapted from Sayang Our Singapore’s Community Cats on Facebook and @juniorcheww on Instagram.