In Singapore, stray cats, otherwise referred to as street cats or community cats, have been the subject of long-standing public debate. They are commonly found in public or residential areas, with a population numbering 13,000 today. Attitudes surrounding stray cats have varied, ranging from negative perceptions surrounding their overpopulation and disease-carrying characteristics, to positive perceptions surrounding their connections to the Singapura cat breed and wider acceptance by the general public.
Issues surrounding stray cats are not unknown to Singaporeans. They have been the subject of abandonment and abuse through incidents of cats being slashed and thrown off buildings. The Singapore Government has enacted various laws and policies like the Cat Management Framework, the Stray Cat Rehabilitation Scheme, and the Animals and Birds Act. At present, much of the efforts surrounding the care and protection of Singapore’s stray cats is contributed by community cat feeders, cat rescuers, and cat fosterers.
Overview
Locations Stray cats are prevalent in Singapore. They can be found in various locations: in exposed corners of sewage systems, residential areas like the void decks of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats, and public spaces like hawker centres and schools. One of Singapore’s islands, Saint John's Island, is particularly known for its substantial cat population. Aside from roaming Singapore’s streets, some stray cats find shelter in the homes of community cat feeders in the area. Street cats are nocturnal, and would be found wandering these areas mostly at night.
Population There are thousands of stray cats roaming around Singapore. Historical estimates of the number of stray cats in Singapore range from 60,000 to 80,000 cats. Modern estimates put that number at 13,000, with that number set to increase with increased cat registration rates.
Singapore’s large stray cat population stems from high cat ownership prior to residents living in HDB flats; when they still lived in kampong settlements.Chan, “No Room to Swing a Cat?,” 309. In the 1960s - 1980s, residents were gradually moved into HDB flats, and the presence of these animals were discouraged. There is a disagreement on when HDB enacted a ban on cats in HDB flats; some sources cite 1978 as the year of commencement for the ban.Chan, “No Room to Swing a Cat?,” 312. Others cite 1989. Still others cite 1960.Woon, “ST Explains: Why cats are banned from HDB flats.” Despite the discrepancy in dates, the result is the same: cats were banned from HDB flats, and many residents evicted their cats from their homes to live on the street.Chan, “No Room to Swing a Cat?,” 311. Despite the ban, cats were tolerated in residential areas.Davis, “Zones of Contagion,” 280. In 2024, the ban was lifted to allow cats in HDB flats.
Appearance Singapore has a diverse population of stray cats, with fur colors and patterns including tabbies, tortoiseshells, gingers, and pointed. Most stray cats in Singapore are short-haired cats with short or stumpy tails.Searle, “A Study of Variation,” 112-117.
Diet Stray cats scavenge for food in human garbage and hunt birds or rely on hawker centres to provide them with leftover human food.Chan, “No Room to Swing a Cat?,” 311.; Chan, “No Room to Swing a Cat?,” 319. Community cat feeders also provide stray cats with food and water.
Social attitudes
1960s - 1980s: Ban on cats in HDB flats Singapore’s views on stray cats have undergone several changes over the years. In the 1960s, when the Singapore government was relocating residents from kampong settlements, stray cats were seen as unhygienic and as disease-carrying pests.Chan, “No Room to Swing a Cat?,” 310. The resulting aforementioned ban that was enacted in either 1960, 1978, or 1989 emphasised that stray cats were not accepted in Singapore.Chan, “No Room to Swing a Cat?,” 311-312. The Singapore government also set a maximum fine of S$4,000 if it was discovered that a resident owned a cat in their flat.Abdullah, “Cat licensing scheme.”
1970s: SPCA-led and government-encouraged spaying program In the 1970s, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Singapore implemented a spaying programme in hawker centres to manage the population of stray animals that were abandoned there and left to feed on human leftover food. The programme encompassed the spaying of both stray cats and dogs, but stray cats were more commonly found in hawker centres. While the programme was under SPCA’s management and jurisdiction, the Singapore government assisted the SPCA by making licences cheaper for spayed dogs as an incentive. The Ministry of Environment also attempted to increase the hygiene levels of hawker centres to prevent stray cats from gathering there.
1975 - 2000: the Singapura cat and kucinta In 1975, the Singapura cat breed was discovered and subsequently achieved international recognition. The Singapore government, specifically the Singapore Tourism Board, subsequently created the Kucinta campaign in 1990-1991 to capitalise on the popularity of the cat breed and present it as a uniquely Singaporean symbol.Chan, “No Room to Swing a Cat?,” 312.; Adrian Franklin, “The More-than-Human City,” The Sociological Review (Keele) 65, no. 2 (2017): 212-213, https://doi-org.remotexs.ntu.edu.sg/10.1111/1467-954X.12396. The campaign was phased out in 2000 due to the encroachment of stray cats into residential areas, reigniting previous perceptions of stray cats as pests.Franklin, “The More-than-Human City,” 213.
There were disagreements over the Kucinta campaign and the perception of stray cats among the general Singaporean public. During the Kucinta campaign, the Singapore Government focused on the international fame of the Singapura breed.Chan, “No Room to Swing a Cat?,” 312-313. Singaporeans by contrast thought the stray cats that the Singapura cat breed was produced from was a more appropriate Singaporean symbol.
2003: the SARS cat-culling incident During the SARS epidemic in Singapore in 2003, stray cats were captured and culled by the Singapore Government due to the misconception that they could spread the SARS virus.Davis, “Zones of Contagion,” 295-296. Stray cats were also abused due to similar fears.Davis, “Zones of Contagion,” 280-281. The misconception was later debunked by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), but the AVA’s findings were not published due to a lack of confirmation on its reliability.Chan, “No Room to Swing a Cat?,” 316.
Animal advocacy groups like the Animal Lovers League attempted to relocate Singapore’s remaining stray cats in shelters in Johor to prevent them from being culled by the Singapore government. This arrangement fell through, leading these animal advocacy groups to thus shelter Singapore’s stray cats in Singapore under their care. Advocacy efforts surrounded the opposition of culling measures by the Singapore government, and to instead enact a pre-existing Stray Cat Rehabilitation Scheme that involved catching, neutering, and releasing stray cats.Chan, “No Room to Swing a Cat?,” 317.
Due to public pressure, the Singapore government had, by the end of the year, made land available for bidding for interested parties looking for land to shelter Singapore’s stray cats. The AVA also finalised and published their findings stating that stray cats did not carry or spread the SARS virus, thus dispelling the misconception.Chan, “No Room to Swing a Cat?,” 317-318.
2003 - 2024: contemporary views The perception of stray cats among some Singaporeans remains negative today among some segments of the population. Stray cats dirty public spaces by defecating or otherwise leaving their waste products in these areas. Additionally, they produce loud sounds that disrupt nearby residents, especially when stray cats are present in residential areas and tend to be active at night.Chee, “Keeping Cats, Hoarding Things,” 1059.; Woon, “ST Explains: Why cats are banned from HDB flats.” Most complaints regarding pets in HDB flats relate to cats because they cannot be kept indoors all the time or be trained to not disrupt other residents.Chee, “Keeping Cats, Hoarding Things,” 1059.
The divide between natural and human-made urban structures are blurring due to urbanisation; Singaporeans and animals would likely interact with one another at increasing rates.Harvey Neo, “Nature and the Environment as an Evolving Concern in Urban Singapore,” in Changing Landscapes of Singapore: Old Tensions, New Discoveries, ed. Elaine Lynn-Ee Ho, Chih Yuan Woon, and Kamalini Ramdas (Singapore: NUS Press Pte Ltd, 2013), 73, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1nth7t.10. However, given the exclusion that stray cats currently face from public spaces, the integration of stray animals, including stray cats, into urban environments and human interactions remains incomplete.Neo, “Nature and the Environment,” 73-74. Though there was substantial support in 2023 from at least 8 in 10 Singaporeans surveyed for the legalisation and government oversight of stray cats in Singapore.“Most people agree pet cats should be licensed.”
2024: Cat Management Framework On 11 May 2024, a new Cat Management Framework was announced by AVS to start licensing cats from 1 September 2024. A two years transition period was given to allow cat owners to license their cats. It also provides a Trap-Neuter-Rehome/Release-Manage (TNRM) programme for stray cats and education and outreach on community cat caregiving.
The existing Trap-Neuter-Rehome/Release-Manage (TNRM) programme for stray dogs is expanded to stray cats. After being neutered, stray cats would either be adopted or otherwise rehomed or released back onto the streets.
After the September 1, 2026 transitional period, there will be a maximum fine of S$5,000 for having an unlicensed cat in a resident’s home.
There are concerns by cat advocates regarding these regulations, specifically the low barriers of entry for residents to become cat owners and ambiguity surrounding enforcement.Ives, “A Messy Problem in Orderly Singapore.” Confusion over the new rules set by the framework have even led some to abandon their cats, contributing to the stray cat population in Singapore.Zalizan, “Already burnt out.”
Additionally, cat fosterers feel that their ability to shelter as many stray cats as they want to is impeded by the new two-cat limit. The vetting process for cat fosterers by the Singapore government is also dissuading some from continuing their work due to concerns over their suitability and compliance with regulations, and long bureaucratic processes. The rules for cat fosterers specifically are also unclear.
Issues surrounding stray cats Despite changing attitudes, there have been historical and contemporary issues surrounding stray cats.
Cat abandonment Singaporeans have abandoned cats and kittens, often leaving them unsterilised and susceptible to injury and death by other animals or by man-made causes. Cat abandonment is particularly prevalent during festive seasons, and not all cats can be assisted and rescued by cat rescuers and community members.
Cat abuse Stray cats have been subjected to abuse, for instance, there have been cases of stray cats being thrown off buildings, slashed by knives, and wounded by objects thrown at them.Chan, “No Room to Swing a Cat?,” 319-320. Many cases of cat abuse have gone unsolved, though some perpetrators have been found and dealt with accordingly. For investigations into such cases to begin, submitting tangible evidence of the culprits committing these offenses is required, but such evidence is not always available.