Singapore Expats

There is a stray cat that is hanging around our place. I'm an animal lover so I have been feeding it.

Has anyone else had experience in befriending stray cats? I want to make sure it's Ok and even adopt it. How long and what do you need to do to gain the cat's trust and invite it into your home. I already have two stray adopted cats at home (adopted as kittens so really used to humans). I would really like to welcome another stray into my home.

I am so sad that I see so many stray cats in Singapore. Are there any programs in place to deal with them?

I would love to take care of this little one and any suggestions would be welcome. Every night I feed it and it goes nuts over the food - like it's never eaten before. It's breaking my heart.

Hey ScooterBiscuit (love your nick by the way 8) )

Sadly there are thousands of strays in Singapore. The Goverments' latest idea is to curb stray breeding by having cats sterilized for free. I don't necessarily agree with the 'why' of it, but admit that it might assist in putting a stop to the horrific things that can happen to cats without a home (I can't bear to mention them, as I love animals too ). There is an organization called the Cat Welfare Society that does amazing work to educate the public and help take in cats for adoption. Check them out here: http://www.catwelfare.org/

Of course you can adopt it! All four of the cats in my home are strays saved from the street, and all you need to do is gain its trust, give it safe harbour and take it down to the vet for a check up and vaccination. If you live in a house, you won't have much of an issue, but if you live in an apartment, you'll need to check with the management if they'll allow cats (some owners will allow cats but not dogs and vice versa).

Just remember that some cats, if young, can become quite dependent on their human slaves (thats how my cats treat me anyway ) and live much harder lives if you leave them. I read on another thread (that I stayed out of, but wish you much love and luck on) that you might go back to Oz. Just keep the little furry fella's feelings in mind if you do decide to go.

The stray cat we adopted from the cat welfare society is more like a big teddy bear. At first he was very timid, he had been beaten by a group of teenagers & they broke his leg. It was never properly treated so now he walks with a stiff front leg. He was then rescued by the cat welfare soc. He had been in a cage for 4 years, was a tad overweight.

We had to have as my gf said that no one else would adopt him. For the first 2 weeks he hid in a corner, but now he happily plays with our other cat. My gf gets the most amazing affection from him every night - I have never seen a cat so grateful. We are so glad we took him into our house.

Right, sorry, back to the original question - not sure on the best way to get a stray cat to become a house cat. Perhaps you could feed him a little closer to your flat/house everyday until you are feeding him inside. Gently allow him explore the house but leave the door open so he can go if he wants.

I guess after a while he will decide he doesn't want to leave. Get him to the vets, so he can have his jabs & get rid of the fleas & ear mites. The other option is to coax him into a box with food, whisk him away to the vets, get all the above done & then keep him indoors. May seem cruel at first but he will become a healthy house cat much quicker, is it morally right? Taking away his freedom? not sure. Will you give him a better life? I am sure.

But beware, if he is a street cat he may be male & want to spray your place, which is why option 2 may be better if he gets the snip at the same time. He may also need a bit of training on using the litter tray.

Best of luck

Hi ScooterBiscuit
As Seraphim says, you would do really well to contact the CWS, I can't recommend them enough. The volunteers who work there are all really helpful and should be able to answer any questions you have about taking on the stray and what would be best for it.

The sterilisation program is about the most effective way to stop the increasing population of the stray cats. Have you ever seen the figures on how many kittens just one female can produce??? It blows you away.

There is the same system working in the part of Hong Kong where we lived and it was working there. The stray cats were fed by local volunteers and encouraged them to stay around as they in turn curbed the rat population.

Wow, that was a long story...sorry!

Where I lived there were about three cats who lived on the rocks near the water, and during that time I watched one tiny mother kitten go through three pregnancies and out of all three only two kittens survived. She was very wily and it took that long for her to be caught and sterilised. She knew I was a soft touch, and although she taught her kittens hunting etc she used to bring them to our balcony to get tidbits.

I had one favourite, and he trusted me. I would leave the door open and he used to come in to our flat every night and eat cat biscuits and sit on the couch with me, he even let me pat him and play with him, but it took 12 months and he would never stay inside evenwhen it was cold and wet outside. During the day he quite often slept on our balcony as it was cool/sheltered, but he lived outside on the rocks, and I don't know what happened to him. We very suddenly had to move flats and I tried really hard but could not get him to come with us, if ever he was in and I quietly shut the door he literally ran up the walls trying to get out when he realised he was closed in. Nothing would calm him down except letting him out again. I have pangs every time that I think I left him behind, I can still picture his beautiful black coat and piercing yellow eyes, and the little kink in his tail. I hope that he found a new friend to give him his biscuits but I hate to think of what really may have become of him.

Now we are here we have 2 beautiful cats that we adopted through the CWS. One was off the streets (a motherless kitten at 4 weeks old) and the other was 18 months old, a cat who was left here when the owner went to Shanghai. They are both sitting with me as I type this and I won't be leaving them behind no matter what.

oops that was a long story, sorry!