Kitty FAQ
Kitty FAQ
1. What is a Cat Café?
2. Isn’t “Cat Café” just a two-dollar name for a ten-cent idea? Why make so much fuss about throwing a fish to a cat?
3. How do Cat Cafés control the cat population in NTU?
4. Why sterilize the kitties?
5. Why particularly sterilize the male cats?
6. Why do we see ‘do not feed cats’ signs everywhere? Is this a rat conspiracy? Does NTU really allow feeding?
7. Ok enough about Cat Cafés, what do I need to do to be a volunteer?
The Cat Café concept originated in the Mediterranean, where hotel guests would feed stray cats and then leave. But the cats continued begging for food after their human hosts had departed, so to end complaints from their patrons, the hotels began feeding cats away from high-visibility locations. They began sterilizing the cats as well, so as not to exhaust their resources.
The concept was taken up by WSPA, the World Society for the Protection of Animals, which spread the message worldwide. The Café concept is very popular in the United States.
Singapore has Cat Cafés in hotels, shopping centers, private housing estates and at two universities, including NTU. Café operators keep a low profile to discourage vandals, pet-dumpers and cat-haters.
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2. Isn’t “Cat Café” just a two-dollar name for a ten-cent idea? Why make so much fuss about throwing a fish to a cat?
The Cat Café concept emphasizes responsible feeding, namely:
Feed clean food in a clean way:
Wait while the cats eat.
Dispose of the rubbish in rubbish bins or take it home and put it in your domestic rubbish.
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3. How do Cat Cafés control the cat population in NTU?
Cat Cafés reduce the homeless cat population.
The Cat Café concept stresses humane control of cat population by sterilizing adult cats, male and female, and providing veterinary care when they are ill. The Cat Welfare Society (info@catwelfare.org) encourages adoption and re-homing of homeless cats and kittens with good dispositions .
The NTU Cat Management Network also makes bulk purchases of cat food and accept appropriate donations in kind for the cats. A “Kitty” helps pay for food and medical care. Contact NTU_cats@lycos.com for details.
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Female cats in Singapore can become pregnant at 4 months of age. Cats should be sterilized around the age of 6 months to prevent the births of thousands of homeless kittens, who suffer greatly during their short lives, even in estates where people like them and feed them.
The government has killed 13,000 cats a year for 20+ years but the stray cat problem remains unsolved. Sterilization is a long-term approach that gives each cat a better life and prevents our campus from being overrun. The Cat Management Network promotes this humane approach.
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5. Why particularly sterilize the male cats?
Musical tastes aside, un-sterilized males wander further, fight more, suffer more injuries and live shorter lives. They also have major B.O. problems—they do not mark their territory with Incanto ™ but with smelly urine! Sterilization stops the hormones that promote fights and raise a stink!
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6. Why do we see ‘Do Not Feed Cats’ signs everywhere? Is this a rat conspiracy? Does NTU really allow feeding?
The Cat Café works on the principle of low visibility—ideally, invisibility.
As long as the cats are used to begging and scavenging, that is what they will do. Until the cats learn that good and tasty food is to be had regularly at the café, kind people who want to feed them should not encourage begging but should join the Cat Management Network instead. Contact NTU_cats@lycos.com to feed responsibly or take the cute kitten into your home instead of making her a beggar.
The timing of café meals is also chosen for low visibility, based on the level of human traffic at various times of the day and night.
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7. Ok enough about Cat Cafés, what do I need to do to be a volunteer?
Meeeeow! That's great! All you have to do is contact the volunteer coordinator through NTU_cats@lycos.com and give your preferred times and areas: Nanyang View, Hall 1, Canteen B, etc . If you can’t feed, other help is needed too: transport, help with sterilizations, vet care, mediating complaints and monitoring possible areas of concern. Don't forget to also give your contact details.
Feeders have to review the documents CAT BASKET and SAFETY. Besides that, there's also collection of food supplies from coordinator and attending volunteer events to network with others.
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