Kittens found in Sin Ming Industrial Estate covered in glue, rescued & up for adoption

Two juvenile community cats in Sin Ming Industrial Estate wound up in a bit of a sticky situation when they got caught in glue.

Fortunately, a Singapore photographer and his friends decided to rescue the cats and get them cleaned and treated.

They were subsequently put up for adoption.

Sticky situation

The photographer, Moses Tng, told Mothership that he had become acquainted with the estate's three cats and would occasionally feed them, as he worked in the area.

On Oct. 25, he decided to check in on the cats and feed them as he had not seen them for a week.

But while both orange cats turned up for the meal, the third one — a little white cat — remained missing.

It eventually emerged, but its fur was dark.

"I decided to take a closer look, and realised it was covered in a sticky [solution]," Tng explained.

Over dinner, Tng and his friends discussed what to do, and finally decided to bring the white cat to get treated.

But while attempting to capture it, they realised that one of the orange cats also had glue on its fur.

They were unable to find the source of the glue.

"We cannot confirm if it's a glue trap or they bodoh (foolish) then step on some glue left around by the workers, since they are living in an old industrial area," Tng said.

Both cats were subsequently trapped and whisked off to the vet.

Initially, they wanted to also bring the third cat along, just in case, Tng said.

"However it was too smart and outsmarted us a couple of times. After a while we gave up and left her behind," he said.

Too spicy

While they initially tried to engage a vet, the staff were not too keen to help as the cats were "too spicy at that point in time", Tng quipped.

They reached out to a friend who helped take in the feisty felines for a night, before reaching out to Good Life Cat Grooming Salon the next day.

By then, they had calmed down and "slowly opened up" to the team.

Because of their glue-related origins, they decided to call the white cat Uhu and the orange one, Selleys.

Tng and his friends posted a call on social media to ask if anybody would take in the two no-longer-sticky felines.

Within 24 hours, they had both been adopted.

Missing in action

But what about the third cat?

After Uhu and Selleys were adopted, Tng and his friends decided to return to the scene for another attempt on the third cat, which they had dubbed Houdini (for its disappearing act).

But this time, the cat "gave in to us" quite easily, and was crying out when they reached for it.

They took Houdini to the vet for a check, during which they discovered it was actually a girl.

She was later re-christened Tanya.

While Uhu and Selleys have successfully been adopted, Tanya is still looking for her forever home, Tng said.

She is now residing at the Trap Neuter Return (TNR) Project Singapore with other cats who are also waiting to be adopted.

Members of the public who are interested in adopting Tanya can reach out to TNR Project for more information.

Glue traps

According to the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), 28 animals were found ensnared in glue traps in the month of June.

This includes Javan mynas, white-throated kingfishers, plantain squirrels, a common palm civet, a tree shrew, and several snakes.

While members of the public often purchase DIY glue traps, Acres described them as "inhumane and indiscriminate".

They are problematic given the volume of non-target animals accidentally getting caught.

Instead of glue traps, Acres encourages using alternative methods to manage rodent issues.

These include mitigation measures such as removing and securing food attractants, as well as disposing of trash properly.

If one spots any wildlife stuck in glue traps or in distress, they can call Acres' 24-hour wildlife rescue hotline at 97837782.

Top image from Moses Tng