An elderly man may have been used to the stench from a clowder of cats and cat shit in his house, but his neighbours obviously found it unbearable ever since he started hoarding felines in 2000.
The authorities thus acted — dozens of cats were removed from the unit at Block 207 along Yishun Street 21 this morning. Channel NewsAsia reports that there were at least 30 cats kept in cages caked with faeces and surrounded by skittering cockroaches.
The owner of the house — 63-year-old Roslani Ahmad — insisted that he was not abusing the cats, and says that they’re “lovely” and “lucky” to him. He claims to purchase three or four bags of cat food each month for his cats.
“People said my house is smelly. To me, I’m used to it,” he said to Channel NewsAsia.
The authorities had moved in to rescue the cats at 8am today after receiving a complaint. Residents living nearby had previously lodged multiple complaints about the stench too.
Though it may seem like yet another case of cat mistreatment in Yishun, the Cat Welfare Society believes that this is a case of hoarding, and not a case of abuse. They had assisted the family previously by sterilising some cats — but Roslani denied it, saying nobody offered him such.
A few cleaners were reported to have arrived at the house this afternoon and conducted cleaning operations with disinfectant.
Speaking of the cat abuse in Yishun, all seems quiet on the Western front, with no reports of killings or injured stray felines in the past weeks.
