A community feeder found a male cat in Bedok with all of his whiskers cut off.

Photos of the cat's shortened whiskers were posted on Facebook on Feb. 19.

As seen in the photos, the cat's whiskers were reduced to stubs.

Happened months ago

In response to Mothership's queries, Juliana, the community cat feeder who posted the photos, confirmed the cat is male and unsterilised, and was first spotted with its whiskers trimmed some six months ago.

She said she suspects the cat belongs to a household, but has been allowed to roam freely around the estate.

"We have yet to establish a pattern. He comes and goes every few days," she said.

Juliana added that the cat was not seen the past few months, but turned up again for supper in the past month, only to scoot off somewhere: "Every few days he pops up for feeding, then he’s nowhere in sight. For the moment, we think he may have gone home."

According to information online about cutting or trimming cat's whiskers, the practice has been described as painful and decreases a cat's spatial awareness, causing them to become disoriented and less agile.

And for the cat to have its whiskers trimmed, Juliana said she suspects it was done by people the cat trusts.

"I suspect the kitty might be a house cat who roams the estate. In order for a friendly cat to allow a human to cut its whiskers, there must be some level of trust to be able to hold the scissors so near its face," she explained.

Not reported to authorities yet

At the moment, the cat feeder has not reported the matter to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Cat Welfare Society (CWS) or the National Parks Boards' (NParks) Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS).

She said she would engage a trapper to trap the cat for sterilisation under the CWS programme and take more photos of him after observing him for a while more.

Juliana added: "With the new HDB cat law, I hope all cat owners will be made responsible to microchip and sterilise their kitty, and those found flouting these rules are given a harsh fine."

A 34-year ban on cat ownership in public flats could be reversed soon as the government is looking at a proposal to allow Housing and Development Board (HDB) households to own up to two cats per flat.

Juliana added that she and her family have been feeding community cats daily rain or shine, and take trap-neuter-release steps, as well as nursing some of the felines back to health.

The young and healthy ones will be put up for adoption, she said, while those that are ill or unable to fend for themselves will be put up for boarding at Cat Crib.

Top photos from Find Jul Facebook