Cat in SPCA S'pore ad got worse off over a week & 93% of people didn't notice, highlighting pet neglect

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Singapore launched a new campaign highlighting the rise in mistreatment of cats and other small pets, such as rabbits and hamsters.

This comes in response to a 174 per cent increase in animal neglect cases since the pandemic.

SPCA noted that many people adopted pets during the pandemic, and the shift back to office routines, as well as the rising costs of pet care, has been associated with the near-doubling of neglect cases.

Deteriorating

To showcase pet neglect, the SPCA put up a digital display showing a pet cat's gradual neglect over one week.

SPCA placed the digital display at Yishun Bus Interchange over seven days to see if anyone would notice.

By the seventh day, the cat in the display was gone and was replaced with the phrase: "The animal in this ad is gone after being neglected for days".

After seven days, 93 per cent of those who passed by did not notice the cat deteriorating, according to SPCA.

"This campaign is a call to action, and we hope it urges people to reflect on how they can make a difference, starting with the pets in their own homes," said executive director of SPCA Aarthi Sankar.

Other posters showing a hamster and rabbit will also be displayed across platforms and digital channels.

This campaign will run until the end of October to "visually convey how neglect often goes unnoticed until it escalates into a crisis".

Top photos via SPCA