Disgusting

There is always something or someone who can spoil our day if we let them.

Mom and I were almost done in feeding the community cats. We were giving Noisy some water and food at one corner of the void deck. Usually the old folks or youngsters are alright with us feeding Noisy and/or Baby. But this particular Indian girl (a sec sch student) had previously told my mom last year that feeding stray cats is illegal. Mom had shown her the Cat Welfare Society Feeding Responsibly brochure and she became more polite to my mom and didn't say anything more. But we know she doesn't like cats from her stares.

This girl came to the void deck area with some other kids to get some drinks from a new vending machine and said clearly "It's disgusting that people are feeding cats". I heard her and turned around and she was just a metre away from me. She looked at me and I looked at her and went back to face mom and noisy. Mom heard it too. Then the girl said again "It's even more disgusting that they are feeding stray cats." I wanted to retort but I couldn't think of anything. So I kept quiet. I know whatever we said won't change her perception of the cats and us feeding her. I'm just glad she's a student and her words can hurt us but not the cats, as long as she doesn't try to abuse them.

It's kind of sad to hear the words from her as I'm sure she's not the only resident to think so. When I called the TC officer in charge of my area on Jun 22 (Mom's birthday), he told me that during the RC meetings, the RC chairman/vice-chairman will mention about irresponsible feeding at our block and other blocks, as well as the presence of many stray cats. I told the TC officer that we feed the cats using plates and we clear the leftovers. I asked him whether he thinks there are many cats in the area. He said there is. I doubt he bother to check and he probably just listen to the RC. Initially I was hopeful as the TC officer said he would ask the RC whether he could bring me in to the RC meetings and I could brief them about my work with the cats. However, he didn't contact me. During the recent call, he said the RC chairman said she had a meeting with me before. This is not true as I only visited her in her office last year and she told me she didn't have any problem with the cats and she doesn't want to interfere in the cat issues. Through some verbal checks with a few residents, we managed to find out that the RC vice-chairman was the one who approached my mom last year, telling her that he knows she's being nice but she shouldn't feed the cats. Of course, mom did tell her about us sterilising the cats, etc but that probably fell on deaf ears.

My parents and I just have to be extra careful when we feed. We feed in the park and no one complains. It's the void deck area that we have to be vigilant as we are more visible, even feeding at a corner, away from human traffic. We see litter at the void deck, kids peeing at pavements, people making a mess at the seating area and it seems these behaviours are acceptable. On the other hand, we can feed the cats responsibly and manage the cat population and still be seen as an eyesore. It's really ridiculous. A friend suggested I could join the RC to change them and improve the system. I don't want to waste my precious time volunteering in the RC. I know I can't count on our MP if I ever approach him for help.

I could only hope that the TC won't take any action to cull the cats and the RC won't ask TC to do so. The TC officer said he will do so if the cats pose a problem. I told him to let me know so that I can help. I'm not hopeful but every time I see them, I just cherish the moment of watching them eat, drink and relax.