S'pore cat sanctuary sheltering over 80 sick, injured & elderly cats urgently looking for donations

Purrs & Meows is a local cat sanctuary that looks after sick, injured and elderly cats, largely rescued from the streets.

Founded by one Tiffany Heng, the sanctuary has been involved in cat welfare initiatives for several years.

Right now, however, the sanctuary is facing an existential situation and is desperately looking for donations to keep itself going.

A fundraising page has been set up for the sanctuary, with only S$5,720 of the S$19,998 raised as of Oct. 25, 2024.

The S$19,998 raised would be going to, according to the page, rental and utility costs, food, litter, pee pads, diapers, Hartmann's solution and monthly anti-parasite and anti-flea doses for the cats.

Heng conveyed the urgency of her plea on the page:

"In almost eleven years of rescuing street cats, I’ve never written a plea like this before, and I’ve resisted doing so for as long as possible.

As an independent rescuer, I’ve saved over 2,000 lives so far through stray feedings, TNRM (Trap-Neuter-Release-Manage), fostering, providing nursing and palliative care, rehabilitating and socialising semi-ferals, and rehoming cats to good families but now the Sanctuary urgently needs your help."

Heng highlighted rising numbers of homeless animals driven by abandonment, neglect and lack of population control in industrial areas.

"I live in constant worry and pressure to meet monthly expenses so that the cats are not cruelly thrown back out into the streets. To get ahead of the crisis, there's a need to raise more funds," she wrote.

Caring for sick and injured cats

Heng told Mothership that the sanctuary was created to provide a comfortable end-of-life journey for elderly or injured cats, and to rehabilitate those recovering from injury, illness, or behavioural issues for adoption.

Many of the cats at Purrs & Meows are sent there by feeders, often to prevent them from dying on the streets.

Some are diagnosed with various stages of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), from asymptomatic to end-stage.

Others suffer from conditions like renal failure, thus requiring daily subcutaneous fluids, asthma and pancreatitis.

Some are also recovering from injuries such as pelvic fractures or dislocated limbs.

Taking care of over 80 cats

Heng shared that she had previously been running the shelter on her own for over 10 years.

Since March 2024, however, Heng has employed a live-in staff to handle the daily cleaning and feeding of the cats. Student volunteers also help to manage the sanctuary's social media pages.

All the same, Heng still personally attends to the medical needs of the over 80 cats currently at Purrs & Meows, including a group of feral kittens rescued from an industrial site.

"I also personally engage in Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) events, feed stray cats, and rescue cats, often collaborating with the community, including neighbours, cat feeders, and other like-minded rescuers," she said.

This is Heng's full-time job too. "18 hours a day, seven days a week," she said.

Rental costs & struggles

The rental space for the sanctuary costs S$3,000 a month, notwithstanding approximately S$600 in utilities and a staff allowance of S$1,000 per month.

Heng shared that Purrs & Meows till fairly recently had self-financed their rescue work.

Now, however, their savings have run out and their credit facilities are no longer available.

"Now, we are entirely dependent on public contributions to operate the sanctuary as well as any medical bills incurred by the cats under our care," Heng added.

Heng elaborated on some of the mounting costs involved in operating the sanctuary:

"Since March we've been fortunate to receive contributions help us cover the bare minimum to keep going. However, it's becoming increasingly difficult to sustain other operational costs.

Along with rent, there're utilities, pet transport, supplies like cat food and litter, and basic health needs such as mandatory core vaccinations and monthly parasite protection for the cats. That amounts to almost S$7,000 a month."

When asked about what would happen to the sanctuary if they could not obtain enough funds to keep it going, Heng said:

"We take each day as it comes and haven't given much thought to the possibility of a failed fundraiser. Our priority is to persevere for the cats' sake."

If you would like to chip in and donate to Purrs & Meows, you can do so at their GoGetFunding page here.

If you're interested in adopting a cat from the sanctuary, or if you wish to find out more about the rescues, you can reach out to Purrs & Meows via their Instagram inbox.

It costs S$150 to adopt an adult cat or kitten under six months old at Purrs & Meows. Senior cats, above eight years old, can be adopted at S$100.

All adopted cats will be vaccinated, sterilised, dewormed and microchipped.

Top photo courtesy of Heng & GoGetFunding.