[Update on April 9, 4pm: This article has been updated with SPCA's statement.]
In recent years, a number of Ang Mo Kio's community cats have experienced extreme cruelty at the hands of a depraved abuser — or abusers.
The cases were highlighted by one Dickson Chow in two Instagram posts on Mar. 28 and 29, 2021, where it has been steadily gaining traction.
Chow's post, which documented the torture of several cats, was accompanied by photos of the gory and heartbreaking state that the felines were found in.
Photo via @dsonnnc on Instagram
According to him, some of the cats were reportedly thrown down from a height by the abuser, leading to broken jaw in one of them.
In another instance, the abuser had allegedly inserted pipes up a cat's anus, all the way to its stomach.
Photo via @dsonnnc on Instagram
Yet another cat had allegedly been subjected to boiling water and thrown into a bin afterwards.
In a fourth scenario, the cat was found with a broken spine, broken leg, and bloated stomach, and suspected to have been hammered or tied up and kicked.
Photo via @dsonnnc on Instagram
Other sickening methods used by the abusers include putting detergent/poison into the cats drinking water, skinning them, and even chopping their paws off, Chow told Mothership.
Chow added that the area's feeder, who has limited financial resources, has been using her money for vet fees and cremations.
You can see his posts here:
Warning: graphic images
Started seven years ago
Chow said that the cat abuse cases had come to the community's attention as early as seven years ago, with the broken-spine cat discovered back then.
Thankfully, the cat survived the incident, but has had problems defecating independently ever since.
According to Chow, the feeder has been helping the cat to manually excrete by physically stimulating its bowels, and continues to do so seven years later.
However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the community has observed the abuse cases proliferating at an "alarming rate."
From 2020 till now, Chow estimates around 70 to 90 cases in Ang Mo Kio and Yishun alone.
A high profile case last year involved a cat who had its tail cut off:
While a number of authorities have reportedly gotten involved over the years, the abuser(s) remain at large.
Members of the public who wish to report cases of abuse can submit a form here or call the AVS (Animal & Veterinary Service) via their Animal Response Centre at 1800-476-16.
Find out more on the process here.
SPCA's statement
SPCA’s Executive Director Jaipal Singh Gill has released a statement regarding the accusation Chow laid out in one of his posts.
“The SPCA rescues a large number of animals every month. While we may be unable to keep all parties informed of an animal’s recovery progress due to resource constraints, we do update caregivers when they request for information on specific cases. Our staff recalls a case from last year where a caregiver came to the SPCA to claim a body of a deceased cat. She had then informed our staff that the cat presented was not the cat she was looking for. The caregiver kindly agreed to still claim and cremate the body of the cat that was presented. We apologise for any misunderstanding or distress caused.”
Top image via @dsonnnc on Instagram