CAT FEEDER
15 Oct 2025. I met a cat feeder who has some cats in her residence and feeds stray cats at 5am every morning for the past 15 years.
1. Singapore govt now check pet owners whether the cat is vaccinated when annual licence is renewed.
2. Housed cats are different from pet cats. Laws prohibit more than one cat per house.
3. Housed cats will not be given licences for house cats if they have not been approved before Sep 2024. House cat licences are for a group of cats kept and cared for by an individual in a house.
CAT FEEDER - a thin lady in her 50s but look younger, short-haired and kind eyes. Professional and single (probably).
1. Little India. Her 5am feedings are relatively quiet as most feeders do it at night.
Her group will come for her cat food at 5am. If they had been fed at night by other feeders, they
will still come to eat, but eat less. She would need to provide 2 out of the usual 4 packets.
2. Cat food. Wet and kibbles from the cheapest source. The most favoured food is Royal Canin and another brand.
3. Steel plates (flat surface as cat has whiskers which interfere with bowls) and food wrapper paper for those who dislike plates. Will wash at home. Clear and tidy place after feeding is required.
4. Kitten rescue from roof spaces. 2 kittens fell off the roof. She managed to catch one. In some cases, the cat falls from roof opening into the cooking pot of dahl. Little India shophouses. Used to have more feral cats than now. Recalled one kitten with one eye problem when it was as small as her palm. Saved it and now at home.
5. Sick cats. She brings them to the vet.
6. Trap-Neuter-Release. She brings them to the vet but some feeders get vouchers from the Cat Welfare Society.
7. She had not traveled overseas as she feeds her cat 5am daily. Not a problem with her.
8. Heavy rain in the morning. No cats will come for feeding.
9. No euthanasia. Her vet hospitalised a cat with bad nasal cancer. It survived 18 months (since Aug 2024) with treatment and drips. No euthanasia. She kept it at home till it passes away. Hand fed AD diet 2 cans a day till one day the cat stopped eating. Peed and pooped all over the apartment. Assured sick cat it was okday. It died on its own.
10. Stray cats in Little India. Road kill. Older ones cross the road slowly.
11. Diseases. Worked with a regular vet who will hospitalise it till it is fit to go home. One cat with FIV and FP no hope, but got it treated and cared for till it passed away in her care.
12. Cat feeders's emotions. Once a friend asked her to feed stray cats in aonther area. The incumbent cat feeder shouted at her and told her to get lost. "The stray cats are her family members," I told her. "She feeds them for some months or years. You encroached on her territory. It was emotional devastating for her." Her friend was not a cat feeder and so did not appreciate the emotions of transgression of territory.
13. Cat feeders use social media like Facebook to source for funds. Those who don't know how to do it, use their own funds. Food costs can be very high although the vendors give discounts.
14. The government's strict stance on house cats not being given a licence after Sep 2024 will mean that the non cat owners will be happy. "Some cats make a lot of noises and peed anywhere outside the apartment," I said to her. "Complaints to the town council.".
"My cats are very quiet," she said in her soft voice.
15. A cat feeder sacrifices time and money. They are a rare group of volunteers, usually women, working tirelessly and in low profile. Every cat's life saved is a testament to their hard work and sacrifice. It needs lots of money to sustain the operation of house cats or feral cats.
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Comments from VIN
Owner Died: Should Indoor Cats Be Put Outside To Become Community Cats Or Should They Be Euthanized?
1. I
will never support cats being outside; they are domestic, non-native,
invasive animals that decimate wildlife. Plus they will be at risk of
getting hit by cars, fighting, susceptible to disease, etc. It will
significantly compromise their welfare.
2.
I
think "just turn them loose" is not an option for the reasons others
said above. I couldn't tell if when you said something about making
them outdoors at a stable you meant YOUR place? If you wanted to take
them and take responsiblity for them I might condone that if they were
going to be your barn cats and you were going to provide their food and
medical care and euthanize them if they didn't adjust well (also
assuming you wouldn't just "put them in the barn" and hope they figure
it out LOL)
If it's not you or someone you are very closely
associated with then I would euthanize - that is the way to ensure a
peaceful and painless passing. I'm so sorry for you to have to deal
with this - In our willls my husband and I specifically wrote that our
executor has our full permission and endorsement to euthanize any of our
pets at the time that are felt to be unplaceable or felt that rehoming
would be too stressful on them. We don't know how many pets we would
have at that time and what their ages and medical status would be -
seemed better to be sure to let everyone know that we would be fully
supportive if it was felt that the pets were better off euthanized than
at a rescue or going through rehoming.
3.
Assuming
he is power of attorney for mom (since powers of attorney expire at
death, if he was power attorney for sister, that is no longer valid),
what he wants is what you do. Period.
You may agree with him, or
may not, but that is not your call - just like it wouldn't be your call
if mom (if she had capacity) made the same decision. It is her decision
to make, and she gave the power to her son to make those decisions.
Whether a good idea or not, or meets your ethical standards or not, is
not relevant.
Certainly you can suggest to him better options, alternative options (rehoming, etc.), but ultimately it is his call.
Raphael Moore, J.D., LL.M.
VIN General Counsel
Davis, CA
legal@vin.com"Our
replies to VIN postings should not be considered specific legal advice
to any individual. Our aim is to provide general principles that may be
useful to the VIN community as a whole. You should seek individual legal
advice pertaining to your specific factual situation, and the laws
applicable to your jurisdiction."
