Another community cat was found harmed after a cat feeder in Jurong realised that the poor animal has been declawed and had broken teeth.
On Friday (15 April), the cat feeder went to Facebook to appeal to other feeders to stay alert for other community cats living in the vicinity.
In the post, the feeder notified that the community cat harmed was a cat named Beanie that often wandered between block 675 to 679 at Jurong West Street 64.
Suspicions Due To Loss Of Interest in Food
The feeder described Beanie as a “gentle, sweet community cat”.
They realised that something was wrong Beanie had lost interest in his favourite meal which includes his favourite brand of wet food.
Upon further inspection, the feeder noticed that Beanie’s back legs did not “seem right”.
It was then to the feeder’s horror that they realised Beanie had been declawed. Beanie’s teeth were also broken and his mouth area looked like it had been injured as well.
As if the injuries were not enough, Beanie was also found to have a fever and leg infection.
More Than One Abuser
According to the feeder, they suspect that the abuse likely occurred between Sunday night (10 April) to Monday morning (11 April).
This was because the feeder was only able to locate Beanie some time on the following Tuesday afternoon (12 April).
The feeder also suspects there is more than one abuser at large as there had to be more than one person present to hold Beanie down while the other declawed him.
Beanie was also often wary of strangers and only approached people he was familiar with.
Why Declawing Is Harmful to Cats
For those unaware, declawing is extremely harmful to cats as their claws are essential for them to walk and use their legs properly.
Declawing is not the same as cutting your nails. For cats, it’s like someone removing one knuckle from every finger instead.
According to The Humane Society Of The United States, medical problems that can arise from declawing cats include pain in their paws, tissue death, lameness, and back pain.
In 2017, the then active Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) had given a written response on declawing cats.
They stressed that they did not support the practice of declawing cats and said that the practice should only be done by licensed vet practitioners “as an absolute last resort”.
The Singapore Code of Ethics for Veterinarians also state that “declawing of cats … are unethical unless performed as an alternative to euthanasia”.
If you happen to see an animal being abused, you can report suspected cases of animal cruelty to AVS via their website or the Animal Response Center hotline (1800-476-1600).
With that, we hope Beanie recovers soon.
Featured Image: Facebook (Cler Sy)
