A group of five individuals took a community cat right from the doorstep of an HDB flat located at Rivervale Drive in Sengkang.

It prompted a community cat feeder, Nick Han, to post an appeal on Facebook for information on the whereabouts of the community cat named Lenny.

Surveillance footage that captured the incident was included in the Facebook posts to aid in identifying the people who took the cat.

However, it later emerged that the entire incident arose out of a misunderstanding and Lenny was subsequently brought back to his usual spot in the community.

What happened

In the surveillance footage, three boys were walking along the common corridor when one of them pointed at a flat's doorway, where the cat was located.

The boys returned with a fourth boy and a woman. The woman proceeded to grab the cat.

A loud thud was heard as they caught Lenny with a backpack, and the cat was seen for a brief moment when the woman lifted him up.

The group then walked out of frame with the backpack slung over the shoulder of a boy in a red T-shirt.

A Facebook user chastised the group who took Lenny, saying "if you want to ‘adopt’ a [community] cat, always good to inform the feeders, so they will not be so worried."

A photo of Lenny was also posted in the comments section.

"Big misunderstanding"

At 3:27pm on Feb. 24, 2024, Han posted an update on the situation, announcing that Lenny had been returned to his usual spot.

Han told Mothership that "everything was a big misunderstanding".

The kids who took Lenny had meant no harm and merely wanted to adopt him.

Han subsequently took down his earlier post, as he did not want to cause a "huge misunderstanding".

Kids' mother: Kids were unaware of the cat's status

The mother of the children subsequently provided some context.

She said the family is new to the community and they were unaware that Lenny is a community cat.

"We didn't mean any harm. The boys adore cats," she said, adding that the matter was eventually resolved amicably with those involved.

Han also said that "the rules [regarding] community cats are just different".

For instance, not every resident knows if a cat spotted in the estate is a community cat as there were no posters or notices publicising this fact.

Those who are not aware of the cat's status as a community cat may simply assume the creature is a stray, leading them to adopt it without informing anyone.

"Though Lenny has been there for many years, it seems that maybe some people still have no idea that he's a community cat and isnt anyone's property,'" Han said to Mothership.

"I guess the biggest takeaway would be to just never ever assume and always ask online forums if possible.

If all else fails, there are still many many stray cats that are longing for a home."

Those who wish to adopt cats can do so at adoption boards and shelters, including ARKC and the Cat Welfare Society.

Top image via Sayang Our Singapore's Community Cats Facebook page.