meow2

a little introduction to the kitties:

silly girl she climbed up a little tree-like shrub and had trouble coming down

Royal as he looks, he has a fur so smooth like a prince!

Shes young, was unsure of her surroundings when she first came, and was initially bullied by other cats. I remember playing with her; throwing the crushed paper ball and letting her chase it about lol! She has since grown tho!

he was wary of me at first, but after awhile came meowing hesitantly towards me and from then onwards we're friends :)

total socialite! this girl loves attention and being petted. And she isn't afraid of dogs too!

this male scratched me once when he didn't like a certain petting position. But otherwise he can be a dear. i still call him naughty cat though haha

Meow Meow, Nong Rui, she has been around since i was in secondary school. The 'mascot' of Blk 1, passerbys sometimes pet her on their way home. She loves attention too and would sometimes bat my legs if i were to walk off! Oh she gently nips me too, sweet!

meow

After the rush and stress of typing, editing, proof-reading the UROPS report, I've finally completed it!

Looking back on my UROPS journey, it has certainly been a very challenging, yet fulfilling one. When I first started off, with ideas on how to go about doing it, it was the hardest part. Almost everyone, including those close to me, was either skeptical, critical, and for some, perhaps wondering why on earth would i want to study the scratchy screechy creatures of the night.

Someone told me 'you're going to create the idea yourself? Oh no, this may be bad unless you have a prof guidance. Do you know the scientific method very well?'

Someone told me 'why is there a need for this project when it has been well-studied in other countries? I'm just telling you that it might be okay for a UROPS but it might be feasible for an honours fyp.'

Some people screwed up their faces upon hearing that I was studying cats.

It did reach a breaking point, but i still went ahead anyway. Perhaps it was my dream to want to do something for the unprivileged strays, or that I have already made the first step, made me not give up. Well all my efforts have borne fruits so far.

I'm gonna continue to study cats (if a feasible idea forms) under the guidance of my supervisor who has been great, although tough at times, and has shared with me much knowledge on cats.

It was a scary, enriching, pleasant, fun experience doing this project. Scary because I first learnt how to deal with not so nice people; enriching because I learned more about myself and life; pleasant because well I made more catty friends; and fun because being a cat spy can be embarrassing yet funny at the same time.

I learnt that:

1. Nothing is impossible, if you dare to take the first step.

2. No matter what others tell you, the end result may not be like what they warned.

Social, Asocial, Antisocial

Cat Definitions

Social:
A social species is one whose members form “stable relationships”.
Only in recent years did scientists discover that the domestic cat (whether feral or house cat) had an established social hierarchy.

" Though its ancestors may have led asocial lives, the domestic cat has evolved into a far more sociable animal both in a feral and a household setting. "


Asocial:
Asocial animals live mostly solitary lives, but come together in groups for two reasons: breeding and raising their young. Domestic cats are considered to be asocial (Pets.ca)

Antisocial:
Antisocial animals are solitary, aggressive when mating, and spend a very short period of time in raising their young (Pets.ca)



Misc Notes:
Level of sociality can also depend on the personality of the cat
Natoli (1994) categorises cats in terms of their dependence on humans for tropic resources.

History of cat sterilisation programme

"Sterilisation is the most humane and effective mean of controlling the stray animal population. Since 1991, SPCA has been distributing free sterilisation vouchers to the public. This scheme enables people to have stray animals sterilised at participating veterinary clinics. The cost is borne by SPCA and currently a budget of more than S$4,800 per month is set aside for this service."

http://www.spca.org.sg/voucher.html

"In May 2003, the Agri-food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) halted the Stray Cat Rehabilitation Scheme,"

http://www.spca.org.sg/humanestray.html

"Since 1991, our voucher programme for stray-cat sterilisation has translated into thousands of cases of surgery on stray cats being sponsored by the SPCA. Over the years, our monthly budget has more than doubled."

"With the special rates granted to our organisation by participating veterinary clinics (whose kind assistance we are very grateful for), we are able to sponsor the cost of approximately 140 operations every month. We thank our donors whose funding has made this possible. "

http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20070304/070309-1.htm

"When Cat Welfare Society first came into operation(1999), records showed that 13,000 community cats were put down every year. This equated to 35 cats killed every single day. We found that this could not be allowed to go on and joined the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in its effort to incentivise and encourage people to sterilise community cats.

We were also active in coordinating the sterilisation efforts of volunteers under the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA)'s sterilisation programme from 1998 to 2004, implemented after its study confirmed the benefits of sterilisation as an effective means of community cat population control."

http://www.catwelfare.org/aboutus

"In July last year, a local newspaper reported that culling costs for 2003 rose 20 per cent. That year, AVA cancelled its five-year-old Stray Cat Rehabilitation Scheme (SCRS), following the Sars scare.

Eighty per cent of readers surveyed objected to AVA’s annual $600,000 culling bill, and more than half felt funds should go to animal welfare groups to re-home or sterilise strays."

-Why animal welfare groups in Singapore can’t reach out to the authorities

"AVA had previously worked with animal welfare groups and town councils on a Stray Cat Rehabilitation Scheme to control the stray cat population through sterilisation and responsible management of the sterilised stray cats by volunteer caregivers.

The scheme was terminated in 2003 as there was no reduction in the number of strays or stray cat complaints.

In 2007, AVA and town councils agreed on a Stray Cat Sterilisation Programme. AVA would subsidise the cost of the sterilisation of stray cats if the caregivers of stray cats, town councils and the community in the respective precincts agreed to participate in the programme.

To date, we have not been approached by any town councils or caregivers."

-Scheme in place but no takers

http://singaporecommunitycats.blogspot.com/2010/07/ava-replies-scheme-in-place-but-no.html

so it seems that the sterilisation programme in Singapore is as such:

Since 1991, SPCA has been giving out free sterilisation vouchers for sterilisation of stray cats.

In 1998, AVA started the Stray Cat Rehabilitation Scheme, based on a study which showed its success. Under this scheme, both SPCA and CWS worked together with the AVA and town councils to sterilise stray cats.

In 2003, this scheme was terminated citing 'no reduction in the number of strays or stray cat complains', which contradicted its earlier study.

In 2007, AVA and town councils 'agreed on a Stray Cat Sterilisation Programme' where AVA would sponsor cost of sterilising stray cats in participating precincts. However, they have not yet been approached.

At the moment, it seems to me that animal welfare groups are working among themselves to tackle the stray problem.

Cats in moments

simply sweet

she's grooming, but she looks so silly doing that

royalty? he sure is.