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 Eventually, he became withdrawn and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:
Meet Uncle Lim's cat residents at Noah's Ark.
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