What does it mean to be a responsible cat owner?
Do not let your cat roam outdoors
It is a myth that cats in particular need to roam to be contented. The curiosity in any animal, be it a dog, a rabbit or a hamster, would prompt them to explore if not properly secured. There are many examples of cat owners with cats that are perfectly contented to be indoors with the proper care and attention.
A large percentage of complaints that CWS receives about cats are in fact about roaming home cats than they are about community cats. These roaming home cats often loiter around upstairs along corridors and may defecate in inconvenient places or enter peoples' homes. They also reinforces peoples' perception of cats as hard to confine and out of control.
Provide a cat-safe home
Cats are climbers by nature and in high-rise Singapore the incidence of cats falling out of windows is high. Wire mesh (plastic, metal) sold in hardware stores can help prevent painful injuries or death to your beloved cats.
Sterilise your cat
Eliminate undesirable behaviour such as marking (for males) and caterwauling (for females). This also prevents unwanted litters from being born.
Feed high quality foods
Leftovers, food scraps are not meant for cats/pets. They require a good quality diet that will keep them healthy. There are many good brands available in reputable pet shops. Do check with them on recommended foods. Spending a little more on proper diet/better brand of food will prevent massive vet bills in the future. A healthy cat is a happy cat. Recommended types of food should be grain-free, free of colourings, sodium, artificial flavourings & by-products. They are many resources on the Internet that will educate the proper diets for healthy pets.
Provide a scratching post
To prevent your cat from scratching your furniture, provide a scratching post or board. There are also anti-scratch sheets that can be used on your furniture to protect them.
Never declaw your cat. Declawing is actually an amputation of the last joint of your cat's "toes". It is a painful surgery, with a painful recovery period. It can lead to physical, emotional and behavioral complications and the cat is also deprived of its primary means of defense and escape (by climbing) if it ever escapes to the outdoors.
Pets are for life
Please do not abandon your cats. They often do not survive well on the streets as they have lost the instincts to fend for themselves. They also add to the community cat population in the estate and are thus in danger of being trapped for culling.
