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Woman Hoarded Over 30 Cats in Undesirable Cages With 1 Cat Even Having Its Eyeball Dangling Out

2021-11-11 , 12:20 pm

Unless you were born with a cold, black stone where your heart should have been, none of us can tolerate animal abuse.

Seeing vulnerable, defenceless creatures being neglected or abused breaks our hearts, but the sad truth is that animal abuse occurs all the time.

It’s only when someone cares enough to bring the incident to light that action is taken. And that’s what Facebook user N Huda Ismail is hoping will happen.

Caretaker Found Hoarding 30 Cats Under Poor Living Conditions

Huda was asked by a friend to assist a caretaker at Keramat Bukit Kasita, a royal shrine and cemetery located at 532 Kampong Bahru Rd.

When she arrived on 17 Oct this year, she was shocked to find over 30 cats living under deplorable conditions, in the care of the caretaker, who is a woman in her 60s.

23 of the cats were housed in a caged area, while seven other cats were confined to their own individual cages outside the area.

“I was horrified by the conditions of the cats when I entered the caged area to clean,” Huda said.

“The cats were in severely poor condition. There was no litter for the cats and instead, old newspapers were used for the cats’ excrements. Even the bowl she used to feed the cats dried food was stained with dried feces. Some of the dried food was mouldy too!”

Huda said that the cats’ excrement was watery, meaning they were likely suffering from diarrhoea. A ginger cat was limping, another cat was balding around the neck, and one black cat apparently had her left eyeball dangling out of her socket.

Caretaker’s Response

Appalled, Huda raised her concerns about the sick cats to the caretaker, but the woman brushed it off as “normal”.

She also said that she had taken the ginger cat to the vet.

So, Huda visited the site daily for the next three weeks to help the woman take care of the cats. She noted that some of the cats were unsterilised, which meant their population would only keep growing. When she first arrived, there were already three kittens at the site.

Concerned, Huda urged the caretaker to sterilise her cats, but the caretaker said she does not receive any financial aid from the government, even though she’s been maintaining the site for 30 years.

After 10 days, Huda noted that one of the kittens had a bite on its arm, so deep that bone was visible.

“I told the caretaker that it needs to be taken to the vet immediately and she told me that she would. The next day, the caretaker informed me that the kitten had died,” she wrote.

Keeping Other Animals As Well, Rats Running Around

Besides the cats, the caretaker kept caged chickens, seven Indian fantails, and two pigeons as pets, Huda wrote.

There were also rats running around the area, some of whom are biting the cats.

“[They] were running around the area feasting on both cat & human food. The caretaker almost ate one of the rat’s leftovers, luckily I stopped her in time,” Huda wrote.

Got Help From Rescuers

Huda eventually turned to local cat rescuers for help, and claims that the caretaker had lied to them, saying all her cats were spayed and neutered.

She then changed her story and told the rescuers that she’s in contact with the Cat Welfare Society) and will undergo sterilization in the coming week, which was untrue, Huda said.

Fortunately, the rescuers managed to convince the caretaker to sterilize her cats. She even agreed to rehome most of her cats.

But that wasn’t the end of her troubles.

One of the cats who was later brought to the vet was diagnosed with ringworm, and Huda claims that a kitten has since gone missing.

“After 3 weeks, I decided to leave as I have lost all hope in the caretaker being receptive to advices for her cats’ proper care and well-being. She wholeheartedly believes that she is taking good care of the many cats she has…” Huda wrote.

“I cannot help someone who doesn’t want to help herself.”

Huda said she has reported the issue to the relevant government agencies, including the Animal & Veterinary Service.

Let’s hope that those poor cats get the care they need.

You can read the full Facebook post below: