Having a cat can be a gift – but having more than a few in the house can get real hectic really quickly.
Now imagine having to look after more than 400 kitties at the same time.
34-year old Shah Alamite Muhammad Razeef Che Shamah doesn’t have to imagine it at all, as he runs a shelter that feeds, treats, and shelters 430 stray cats, at the cost of some RM10,000 a month.
“I was inspired to do this a few years ago, when I was having my father’s cat neutered. I found out that stray cats found by KL City Hall (DBKL) would be out down if no one came to claim them,” he told Sinar Harian‘s Hidayah Hairom.
Since then, Razeef has been picking up any stray cats he finds.
“In the beginning, I would only rescue and treat sickly stray cats, to take care of them until they were well enough to be released.
“Now, my fianceé and I would head down to the DBKL pound to pick up stray cats there and take them back to our shelter.”
Razeef now operates two cat shelters, the latest of which is located in a three-story shophouse in Shah Alam. The first, located nearby, runs out of a terrace house.
The cost of running both shelters, including location rental, utilities, and cat food runs up to almost RM10,000 a month, he says.
“The cost is significant, but I’m heartened by all the support and help we’ve gotten from the public. We opened the first shelter out of the kind contributions of others, anyway,” he said.
“We do need more volunteers to help with rescuing these cats from the DBKL pound, and to keep the shelters clean.”
Razeef’s shelters operate on a “trap, neuter, & return” policy, in which rescued cats would be neutered and nurtured back to health before being released to fend for themselves.
Nevertheless, since the shelters’ inception, not one cat has yet to be released out into the streets, despite being neutered and nursed back to health.
Razeef’s fianceé, 22-year old Nurul Ain Abdul Hamid, said Razeef could opt to have a less complicated life without the shelters, but they both shoulder the burden with open hearts.
“Razeef does so much for this project. He could choose not to burden himself with the shelters, but he chose to do it anyway, out of a sense of obligation.
“God willing, I’ll keep on suporting his efforts and we’ll continue this initiative even after we’ve married and have children.”
Contributions and donations to the cat shelters can be transferred to Razeef through the following accounts:
Maybank – 162786101733 – Muhamad Razeef Che Shamah
CIMB – 7011298684 – Muhamad Razeef Che Shamah
Paypal – muhamad.razeef@ymail.com
