A lonely journey of compassion

This article was written with permission from Mr T.T. Lim

Noah’s Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary (NANAS) has seen its fair share of animal hoarders and the condition of the animals who had become the prisoners of their love. Most of them start off with good intentions and have compassion for the animals. When they see a stray, they find it impossible to turn away. They allow their hearts to rule their heads and became addicted to the accumulation of more animals. They are overwhelmed by their well-meaning intention that their animal care is neglected or compromised.  

Take the case of Mr T.T. Lim.  His neighbors label him as the “Crazy Cat Man”.  Uncle Lim is 67 years old, a retired bachelor who lives with his street cats.  The cats are like his children and he knows each by name and their medical histories. He retreated from socializing with his friends because of his cats. His friends stopped dropping by his house because of the stench of the cats’ faeces and urine and possible health risk to themselves. Neighbours complained about the presence of cats’ waste in their gardens and infestation of parasites. Eventually, he became withdrawn and isolated.

This kind man would bring his rescues to our Noahs’ Ark Animal Birth Control (ABC) Clinic in Melaka for medical treatment and sterilization.  Uncle Raymund has shared and counseled Uncle Lim on the following:-

(a)  Management of community cats i.e. that instead of the scattered, random  approach adopted by Uncle Lim on picking up stray cats across a wide geographical area, he should concentrate on specific locations, for example, the food-court at Bukit Bruang.  This way he could get an idea of the cat population there and to sterilize as many as possible. This approach is faster and has more visible impact to curb the over-population. Furthermore he would be able to contain and manage any infection afflicting them.

(b)  Quarantine of sick animals and proper nursing protocol. Invariably the cats Uncle Lim rescued are afflicted with respiratory infection.  In order not to transmit any infection to his healthy cats, Uncle Lim should not allow them to have any contact.

(c)  Trap Neuter and Release (TNR). Cats that have been neutered must be returned to where they were first caught.  However after having nursed the sick animal to health or after sterilization, Uncle Lim forms a strong attachment to the animal and cannot bear to release them. The “R” in the TNR did not materialize. Thus, began the accumulation of cats in Uncle Lim’s household.

Sometime in May 2014, while Uncle Lim was mopping the kitchen floor in his home, he slipped and landed on his back. His injuries were so severe that he laid paralyzed and helpless for three days.  Without food and water, Uncle Lim drifted in and out of consciousness.  His shouts for help were unanswered as he lived alone.  

On the third day after the fall, a friend dropped by his house, after failing to get him on the phone. Uncle Lim knew this was his last chance to get attention from his friend, otherwise he knew that he would not make it.  He mustered all his strength and expelled an explosive shout. His friend quickly attended to him and called the ambulance.  

No one knew the exact number of cats in this multi-cat household except that the population was burgeoning.  The 30 odd cats that hung around the house were stressed, frightened and ill.  A Noah’s Ark volunteer, Shaqira did most of the heavy work – feeding and nursing the cats on daily basis. She took it upon herself to clean and mop the house because the cats, in their stressed condition, had defecated on the floor and other surfaces. 

I wished that Uncle Lim had listed the total number of cats and their respective medications, rather than us doing “a guessing game”. Due to the overcrowding and the deteriorating housing condition, more cats were falling sick. Some started to linger outside the house, becoming a nuisance to the neighbours.  Whilst we took turns to shuttle to Uncle Lim’s house daily to tend to his furry friends, we felt the strain as we had to juggle our own personal responsibilities with the added workload.

At best, we managed to find homes for some of the kittens. Sadly, there were no takers for the rest of the cats.  It is unconscionable to abandon the cats and let them fend for themselves as the street is not their home.  I kept Uncle Raymund updated of Uncle Lim’s medical condition which would require long recuperation,  the deteriorating sanitary conditions of Lim’s house and the complains from his neighbours of the nuisance  from the cats. Uncle Raymund offered the sanctuary as a permanent home for the cats on compassionate grounds.

We set out with our rescue mission to bring the cats safely to the sanctuary. However, we were met with obstacles. Cats are highly territorial creatures and those 30 felines were very suspicious and mistrustful of us.  Some tried to hide almost immediately when we entered the premises.  It was a daunting task to coax the cats into our carriers and now I understand why “herding cats” is a synonym for “chaos”.

After an exhausting “cat and mouse” chase as some of the cats were stubbornly elusive, we manage to round up all the cats without any “cat-astrophe.” The cats’ first stop was the ABC Clinic in Melaka as a temporary holding area where they were de-fleaed and de-wormed until they were re-located to the sanctuary.  We also provided food and water.

Cats getting ready for their journey from
Melaka to Noah's Ark in JB.

A mother cat nursing her kittens.

On 31 May 2014, Raymund and I visited Uncle Lim at the hospital to provide updates on his 30 furry friends and assured him that Noah's Ark will become the cats’ forever home. His eyes teared.  The grief, guilt and burden that Uncle Lim had been shouldering were lifted. I could tell that Uncle Lim is grateful to Noah's Ark. He can now focus on recovery. 

On the same evening, it took six people to hoist the carriers and secure them properly for the cats’ two hour journey to their “Purr-adise”.  45 minutes later, our rescue mission was completed.  

On 7 March 2015 ,Uncle Lim celebrated
his birthday.  He is now residing
at a nursing home.

Uncle Lim has also undergone surgery and has cervical spine disc prosthesis implanted in situ c3/c4, c4/c5 and c5/c6.  Recovery will take a longer due to his age.  Most importantly, he has a positive outlook in life and he hopes that one day he is able to continue caring for the community animals.

Instead of being appreciated for his compassion for the street cats, Uncle Lim was judged negatively, either as a hoarder, eccentric feeder or a person with mental disorder. He was ostracized.  It tells us something about our society’s treatment towards stray animals and their carers. We hope that our society is able to reach out to help those in need and support them with help such as veterinary care or placement of these animals.

By Siah Li Mei

Note:

Please do read our articles on Where there’s a pet, there is a will and The importance of including your pet in your will and a video on “The street is not their home.”

Meet Uncle Lim's cat residents at Noah's Ark.

Our reflections by Dillon and Kenneth, final year vet students, University of Adelaide

Our placement at Noah’s Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary (NANAS) was truly a memorable experience. Upon stepping into the sanctuary, we were welcomed by dogs of all breeds, ages, colours and sizes (even number of legs). Although each of them had a different physical appearance and personality, one thing common amongst them was their freedom and happiness. This emotional state is possible because of the environment (and home) which the ark provides. The property is aptly named a sanctuary; a safe haven for the animals, a home for abandoned, abused and neglected pets and a place where the animals are protected and taken care of.

One of the many areas the dogs are allowed to roam.

The Cat Wisma, a 2 story house specially for the cats to live in.

The sanctuary also houses the Animal Birth Control clinic which aims to provide low cost sterilization of animals to the community. We spent most of our first week in here, performing spay and neuter surgeries under the watchful eye of Raymund. Under his guidance, we learnt many different surgical techniques and how to handle various situations in ‘shelter’ surgery. This has helped us to gain confidence and become competent in the tissue handling and resolving problems.  

From left: Kenneth and Dillon performing sterilization of female cats in Malacca.

In our second week, we were given the opportunity to perform numerous sterilizations on stray animals and pets in the different communities in Muar and Malacca. This has helped us to further develop our knowledge and skills set.  Besides the technical skills, we were also able to grasp a good understanding of shelter medicine. Raymund also shared with us the structure of the organization and its role in reducing the number of stray animals on the street. Through our interaction with him, we gained an insight into his passion and love for the animals, which is what motivates him everyday.

Among the many conversations we had with Raymund, there is one thing that stands out. He told us - the only way an animal can reciprocate your support and kindness (choosing to rescue, save, treat them etc) is with its love and affection. It is this innocence and purity that compels people to give back to the animal society.

Dillon with the playful cats in the wisma.

Kenneth bidding goodbye to the canine residents at Noah's Ark.

  

In summary, our experience at Noah's Ark has been a rewarding and meaningful one. We would like to express our gratitude to Raymund and his staff for their kind hospitality and for providing us with delicious food each meal. We would encourage anyone reading this to find out more about Noah’s Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary, to share in its vision and join its cause in providing a better tomorrow for all animals.

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Gandhi .

Written by Dillon & Kenneth

Final year vet students, University of Adelaide

  

Visiting Vet Students at Noah's Ark

Since November '14 till January '15 - we had several vet students that were back in Singapore for the holidays and they took the opportunity to volunteer at Noah's Ark ABC Clinic in Johor as part of their attachment.

At Noah's Ark ABC Clinic, the vet students gained hands on experience working with street animals and attending to our sanctuary residents.

Our sanctuary residents had a great time with our vet friends and we would like to thank them for helping to keep our streets stray free for sterilising the street dogs and cats.

We hope the vet students had gain a valuable experience and knowledge during their stay and we would like to wish them all the best in their  future endeavours

Nally from The University of Glasgow.

Nally a final year veterinary student from The University of Glasgow did her clinical placements at Noah's Ark ABC from the 24 November to 6 December '14. 

A place for aspiring vet to pick up their surgical skills. 

Dr Irving Kay graduated from University of Queensland.

Dr Irving Kay fresh grad from the University of Queensland, Australia did his internship at Noah's Ark ABC (Animal Birth Control) Clinic to familiarise himself with the procedure and to understand shelter medicine and TNR programme. It was a rewarding experience for him before he embarks on a veterinary journey with The Republic Clinic in Singapore.

Left: Pei Xiang, a year three veterinary student and Esther a final year veterinary student from the University of Glasgow did their clinical placement at Noah's Ark ABC clinic for two weeks.

Left: Dillon Devathasan and Kenneth Yen final year veterinary students from University of Adelaide.

Kenneth and Dillon attending to Prisma. 

Seniors from Singapore veterinary clinics were at Noah's Ark ABC clinic on 12 January to guide and share their surgical skills with veterinary students. 

A group of rabbits were castrated by Dr Wan Lin and Dr Nicole with Dr Kesia keeping a close watch on Dillon.

From left: Raymund, Kesia, Wan Lin, Nicole, Dillon and  Kenneth.

After a hard day's work, the vets were rewarded with a sumptuous dinner at The Garden Restaurant in Gelang Patah and a farewell dinner for Dr Nicole Sia who will be starting a new journey in New Zealand soon.

Why no AVA role in scheme to sterilise stray dogs?

Source: The Straits Times
Date: 11 December 2014

Source: The Straits Times
Date: 6 December 2014

Noah’s Ark Animal Birth Control (ABC) Clinic’s humble beginnings

Vets from Singapore volunteering their services and assistance
to help the animals at Noah's Ark..

When people are ill, we are able to visit the nearest polyclinic for good yet affordable treatment as the government subsidizes such medical costs.  Unfortunately, this avenue is not available to pet owners.  Sadly, many pet owners are not able to pay the veterinary charges and opt not to visit the vet when their animals are ill, as much as they would wish to have their animals treated.  Recognizing that there was a gap to be filled, Raymund Wee, the founder of Noah’s Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary (NANAS) started his low cost mobile clinic called Noah’s Ark Animal Birth Control Clinic (Noah’s Ark ABC Clinic) to service this need.

Raymund painstakingly converted an old caravan into a mobile spay shuttle that is fully equipped with a surgical suite and equipment. The services offered by the clinic are routine medical checks, simple surgical procedures and sterilization at subsidized rates. Despite the small space, the clinic even is able to house recovering animals that have been sterilized to monitor their recovery.

Pet owners that are dependent on financial assistance or government grants will have their medical fees waived. The objectives of the clinic is two fold. First to provide affordable pet care for owners who would otherwise not be able to treat their pets but also to encourage people to sterilize both their pets as well as strays that they are caregivers of.  Raymund has always believed that sterilization is the only humane way to reduce the stray population of both dogs and cats.  As such, Noah’s Ark offers TNR (Trap, Neuter and Release) for street cats and dogs.  As he feels that in many of the cases of these strays, the animals have been abandoned as the owners were not able to afford medical expenses to treat the animals.

As such, Noah’s Ark will continue to provide free or heavily subsidized spay services in its effort to reduce the stray population in both Singapore and Malaysia.

Executives by day, cat-women by night

• By Janice Lim and Yeo Kai Ting

Two volunteers explain why they devote their after-work hours 

to the Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage (TNRM) Programme, 

which they believe is a better way of controlling 

Singapore's stray cat population compared to culling. 

SINGAPORE: Relationship manager Sharon Tang and lawyer Thenuga Vijakumar are busy executives by day, but at night, they turn into cat-women - they trap stray cats and send them for neutering, in a bid to save them from being culled.

They are doing their part in what's known as the Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage (TNRM) Programme, which Ms Vijakumar describes as a long-term solution to controlling Singapore’s stray cat population. According to the Cat Welfare Society, there are about 60,000 stray cats in Singapore.

"If you do TNRM, you're talking about taking 10 cats, neutering 10 and the number stays at 10," said Ms Vijakumar. “Cats reproduce very quickly, so culling is a very short-term solution. If you could have neutered your two cats before they became 20 cats, then you are not wasting 18 lives for no reason."

Each session spent trapping stray cats for these volunteers can be as quick as 20 minutes for three cats, but that is a rarity, they say. More often, they end up waiting for hours just to get one cat.

The work they do is also frequently misunderstood. "I think the public needs to know what we're doing here. We're not taking cats away or throwing them somewhere else,” said Ms Tang. “We even have cases of people who pass by and just decide to release the cat, not knowing what we are really trying to achieve here."

Once the cats are trapped, they are sent to the veterinarian for neutering. After surgery, the cats' left ears are slightly tipped - to identify them as neutered. Recovery takes a couple of days, after which the cats are released back to where they were found.

"There is now more recognition that TNRM is actually the most humane way of managing the cat population," said Ms Vijakumar Thenuga. "I know that each cat neutered means one less cat fight, one less potential deployment of an AVA (Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore) trap, one less potential cat for culling." 

Source: Channel News Asia

POSTED: 29 Jul 2014 23:43

"Project Catsnip" in Muar, Johor.

Noah's Ark ABC clinic activities in Muar, the royal town of Johor. A weekly or bi-monthly sterilization program is reaching out to the cat lovers community at low-cost.

Sterilization cost RM30 males and RM40 females, however for people under social welfare aids are free of charge.

On 18th April 2013, we had a "Project Catsnip" in Muar and this has been an on going project for the last 5 years and very well received by the public. On certain days of the month, Noah's Ark runs ABC clinic "Project SOS Cats" free of charge for Muar street cats, a trap and release program to reduce street cats population. The respective colony caregivers will oversee their cats needs and welfare. All cats will be vaccinated and dewormed.




Noah's Ark ABC Project

Today at 4pm, Noah's Ark Vice President Puan Mariam mitigating the release of these cats that have been kept in these cages for almost six months at Gelang Patah, Johor.

Reasons were for the safety of the cats since they're staying next to a very busy intersection and this single mother leaves to work from 7am till 5pm and she's afraid that her cats will wander into the street. 

She owns 13 cats and Noah's Ark will be sterilizing these cats for free.

Would like to thanks Carol Debra for her kind contribution of RM300 to Noah's Ark A.B. C (Animal Birth Control) mobile vet project.


This helps to defray the costs of a full-time veterinarian, surgeries and other medical expenses. If you too would like to help contribute to this cause with any kind amount, below are the details. Thank YOU!!!

Noah's Ark Natural Animal Shelter.
Account Number 01190002636058
CIMB Bank, Gelang Patah branch JB.

Noah's Ark TNR (Trap-Neuter-Release) Program

These cats were rounded by the Malacca town council and they were on death roll by the end of each week. They were brought to our ABC (Animal Birth Control) Clinic to be sterilized under the TNR (Trap-Neuter-Release) program.

Their left ear tip will be notched as a marking to indicate that they have been sterilized. Eventually, all these cats will be rehomed.

If you would like to help contribute to this cause with any kind amount to defray the costs of a full-time veterinarian, surgeries and other medical expenses, below are the details. Thank you.

Noah's Ark Natural Animal Shelter.
Account Number 01190002636058
CIMB Bank, Gelang Patah branch JB.

Cat Welfare Work and Alley Cat Control In Malaysian Communities.

By introducing Stray Management Programme with the co-operation of town council and residents will eventually rid an environmental stigma as well as inculcating a caring and responsible society with the hope that Malaysia can hold as a living example to the success of the program. Cats are elusive and prolific animals and have the tendency to breed very quickly if their breeding nature is not control effectively.

Our objective is to introduce stray management program to curb the growing numbers of strays in a humane and effective way. The scheme is aimed at the dedicated and committed animal lovers (Volunteers/Caregivers) forming a cat welfare in Malaysia. It is necessary to work with the local town councils, residence and volunteers over the long-term sterilization work to evident the control of cat population in a responsible manner.

RATIONALE FOR THE PROGRAMME

Sterilization proved to be most effective ways in controlling the stray population in a sound rationale and humane ways. Males are castrated; females are spayed.
Sterilized cats become docile and endearing. Their nature of urine spraying will stop. Calling for mates (caterwauling) will stop. Cat fights will stop. No more breeding resulting in reduction of cat population eventually. But their territorial habits will not cease, thus keeping the same amount of cats in one area in check.

RATIONALE IN CAT MANAGEMENT

Feeding areas
Volunteers will train residents to create an area to feed and remove utensils for feeding. NANAS do not encourage cats scavenging for waste due to environmental concern. Feeding area serves as a place where strays will congregate and be monitored. The sick ones will be brought into NANAS for clinical treatment and medical attention; kittens will be cared for in NANAS till they are old enough to fend for themselves, all will ultimately be returned to their colony. Some will not be returned and became permanent resident in NANAS due to physical disabilities.


FACTORS FOR SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAMME

Volunteers are important to effectively spread the programme far and beyond. Their care and concern will build a profound foundation for all towns to emulate. However, the success of the programme depends largely of the following:

• Supports from the authorities, town councils and the residents.
• Build a volunteer base in each town.
• Forming caregiver committee to feed, care, monitor the progress and give feedback to the volunteers.
• Most importantly, residents must unanimously support the programme without prejudice.

RESPECTING THE SOCIETY

Out of respect for the teaching of the Koran (refer to **“Jakim”) on the subject of birth control, cat welfare projects are best not promoted as neutering schemes unless the community has expressed their consent. The emphasis should be approached with considerable tact and diplomacy. Abortion is anathema to Muslims hence the spaying of obviously pregnant cats is distressing to the community. Trapping and neutering must therefore occur outside of the breeding season and visibly pregnant cats must be released if trapped. In some cases where cats are trapped on private property the volunteer may have to give an understanding that no action will be taken which may cause offence and neutering and other veterinary procedures will only be undertaken where there is informed consent.

** Jakim has already released a statement in 2002 that neutering of cats to prevent population outburst is not a sin “ Bahawa memengembiri binatang kesayanagan saperti kuching atau anjing hukumnya adalah diharuskan dengan sebab sebab tertentu ia itu bagi menjaga maslahat ummah.

CONCLUSION

Sterilization of strays and pets are proven to be most effective in population control. Although euthanasia (putting down in a humane manner) is strictly against the teaching of the Koran, not only with cat but all living creatures, many Muslim accept that on occasion, this will be necessary to relieve or prevent suffering. Some, however, will insist that nature take its course in which case pain-relieving treatment must be tactfully recommended. During trap-neutering-return (TNR) it must be stressed that healthy animals will not be euthanized. Where the community is agreeable to limited euthanasia of ferals, the criteria for euthanasia extends only to severely ill cats. Minor conditions can be treated at the time of neutering and flea and worming treatments can be given. Healthy cats should be identified (e.g. ear-tipped) and ID tag (collar) before returning them to their habitat. We strongly believe in community-based approach in resolving the stray situation in the long run.

Prepared by:

Raymund Wee
President,Founder & Caregiver
Noah’s Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary (NANAS)