A cat survived after falling from the 12th floor of an HDB flat along Segar Road in Bukit Panjang.

It was found on the ground whimpering — with serious injuries — but alive.

The cat's owner, Noh Qa'ish, told Mothership he believes that his cat, Kiki, had been frightened by a "firecracker" noise, which allegedly came from the floor above on Feb. 10, 2024.

"Firecracker" went off during dinner

Noh said he had been eating dinner with his brother in his room at about 9pm.

Kiki was also eating from its food bowl near his room's door.

Suddenly, they heard a sound similar to that of a "firecracker", which he said gave him and his brother a shock, and they all panicked.

Their second cat, Chico, ran into the room and hid under his bed.

Noh admitted that he did not notice how Kiki reacted, and he and his brother decided to run out of their flat to check the source of the noise.

He saw his neighbours on the same floor similarly coming out of their units to find out what was happening.

Noh said he believed it was his neighbours on the floor above playing with "firecrackers" but was unsure which neighbour it was.

Unable to find one of his cats when he returned home

When they returned to their unit, Noh said he and his brother couldn't find Kiki.

He said that whenever thunder or loud noises occur, his cats will be spooked and try to hide somewhere.

They found Chico under the bed but couldn't find Kiki anywhere.

Noh said he then noticed that his window, which was only slightly ajar when they left, became pushed out.

He then had the bad feeling that Kiki jumped out of the window.

Cat was found downstairs by neighbour

Noh decided to continue searching for KiKi in his flat while he asked his brother to go downstairs to have a look.

However, Kiki was discovered by a neighbour living on the second floor.

Noh said his neighbour heard a loud banging sound on the walkway shelter and saw a cat on top of it.

His neighbour went downstairs and found the cat already on the ground.

The neighbour then decided to call the police as he didn't know what to do.

Cat hospitalised

When Noh went down to the ground floor, he was horrified by Kiki's condition.

"The most heartbreaking moment was when he was found on the ground floor whimpering," he said.

Kiki was rushed to the Veterinary Emergency and Specialty (VES) hospital.

He sustained a fracture on one of its paws, injuries on its hard palate, which required stitching and a spinal injury which prevented it from moving its upper limbs.

Kiki was also left with a compressed bladder which means it is unable to pass urine by itself.

Raising funds for his cat's hospitalisation bill

Noh told Mothership that Kiki was eventually transferred on the afternoon of Feb. 13 to Atlas Veterinary Clinic & Surgery on account of its lower cost for the cat's daily care.

He added that the bill at the VES hospital came up to nearly S$8,500.

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Noh added that thus far, he has paid S$4,500 to the hospital.

However, because of his family's financial situation, he has since started a fundraiser to pay the remainder of the bill.

The hospital has also given him two weeks to pay the remainder of the bill in light of his situation, he added.

He has since raised about S$2,000.

Noh said he also still has the bill from Atlas to consider despite its lower cost.

This bill is estimated to range from S$1,000 to S$3,000 as Kiki will be staying there for at least five days, he added.

Will mesh up all of the windows in his house

When asked why he did not mesh his windows, Noh said his cats did not usually sit near the windows or attempt to jump out of them.

In addition, Kiki prefers to run out via the entrance of his flat whenever anyone returns home, he added.

Hence, the only precautions he and his brother took were to close the window slightly and mesh the gate instead.

Noh also said that in light of the incident, he will put up meshes on all of the windows in his house once he has the money.

He added:

"My relatives are also contributing for the meshing. We are remorseful."

Top photos courtesy of Noh Qa'ish