WE WERE surprised to read the statements by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in the article, 'Oh, where has the Singapura cat gone?' (ST, Jan 14), in which it mentioned that the Singapura cat was picked to 'showcase the cats that could be commonly found at the Singapore River then'. It also mentioned that 'the cats will live on as part of the story of the Singapore River, blending in nicely with the other sculptures that tell of life at the Singapore River many decades ago'. While we doubt that there were ever any Singapuras at the Singapore River, we can assure the STB that there are a few lovely, local cats that love to sit next to or near the kucinta statues, placed there by the STB. These cats are well looked after by volunteers who sterilise them, make sure that they are in good health and ensure that they are fed in a clean and responsible manner. Many tourists enjoy seeing the cats there. Some of our volunteers have also become temporary tour guides, showing the cats off to them. STB may wish to reconsider our recent proposal to set up and pay for a small structure, which would provide a feeding station and collection point for veterinary care of the street cats. This 'Cat Cafe' concept has been very successful overseas, both as a tourist attraction and a cat-management strategy. Some tourists who had read about the kucinta statues came down specially tolook for the cats after reading STB's brochure and were disappointed to findthat there were no real cats there. They were, however, enchanted when our local cats were pointed out to them as our cats are quite different from those overseas. We hope that STB will stop promoting a cat almost never seen on the streets, and will instead focus on the beauty of the true Singapore cats. We would be delighted to work with the board to preserve a piece of living history - that of cats on the Singapore River. DAWN KUA (MS) Director of Operations Cat Welfare Society