About 30 cats left unattended in Teck Whye HDB flat, owners not seen for a few days

About 30 cats were seen left unattended in a Housing Development Board (HDB) flat in Choa Chu Kang, and the neighbours have not seen the owners.

According to Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min), the cats are being kept in a second floor flat in Block 16 Teck Whye Lane.

One of the neighbours, Wang (transliteration from Chinese), told Shin Min that a couple lives in the unit, and they have more than 30 cats they do not take good care of.

"The cats' faeces are not cleaned up, and the stench can be smelt from the corridor, upstairs and downstairs," Wang said.

Some of the cats were apparently able to get out of the house, and were seen running out at times.

Cats of various sizes

When a Shin Min reporter visited the unit on Jan. 9, they saw that the unit's main door was open.

At least 20 cats sat by the main gate, and there was a foul smell coming from the house.

The reporter noted that the cats were of various sizes. When they saw someone walk by, they would gather at the gate and meow.

There were also a few kittens in the unit that appeared to be a few months old.

When the reporter visited on Jan. 10, the situation remained the same.

It was noted that no resident was seen in the two days.

Another neighbour told Shin Min that the owners were in their 30s and had lived there for around three years.

The neighbour shared that the female owner would occasionally return to feed the cats.

SPCA visited twice

In response to Mothership's queries, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) executive director Aarthi Sankar said they were alerted to concerns about cat hoarding at the block.

SPCA inspectors visited the flat on Jan. 9 but could not enter the unit because the owner was not home.

"As a non-government charity, the SPCA does not have legal authority to enter private premises without consent," Aarthi explained.

However, the neighbours informed the inspectors that the owner was often seen before 7am.

Thus, SPCA inspectors attempted a second visit on Jan. 10 at 6:30am.

Aarthi said the call letter they left behind the day before was no longer on the door, suggesting the house was not deserted. In addition, the lights and fans were turned on, and the windows were open.

"While the windows were meshed, there were several gaps that the cats could potentially squeeze through.

Our inspectors counted about 30 cats, all seeming to share a single litter box which might have led to the strong odour."

Aarthi said that the SPCA has contacted the HDB authorities to arrange a meeting with the owner so that "any welfare concerns can be addressed as soon as possible".

Animal cruelty, welfare issues on the rise

According to SPCA's 2024 report, there were 961 confirmed cases of cruelty and welfare issues. This was an increase from the 915 cases in 2023.

Across the 961 cases, there were 2,190 animal victims involved, the majority of which were cats.

Of the 961 cases, 678 cases involved poor welfare and neglect.

Such cases include dissatisfactory living conditions, high-rise syndrome (pets falling from height due to failure to secure the home), pets left unattended, pets allowed to roam freely outdoors, neglected medical conditions, illegal sales of pets, and animal hoarding.

Top photo via Shin Min Daily News