Woman who cared for community cats for 25 years, dies

NEWS AND COMMENT: This is a story from Singapore. A 74-year-old woman who cared for community cats where she lived has died. She was well known. There have been tributes online. She had a good (but physically weak) heart and she had to scrimp and save over those 25 years. She made sacrifices for the well-being of unwanted cats who should not be in their predicament. She is the kind of person I admire above all others. She got on with helping quietly and persistently, not asking for rewards from people.

Chen Tai and cat. Pic: Facebook

It appears that she had two names because the name is reported on the mothership.sg website namely  Liu Fang Fang is different to her name as reported on Facebook in tributes to her namely Mdm Tan (Chen Tai).

I don't think that matters because she was a well-known personality. She taught others how to care for community cats and when feeding her cats she covered an area of about six bus stops. I think that gives you a nice feel for the effort she put into her voluntary tasks.

She started out within the vicinity of her block at Jurong West Street 75. Apparently she was known to have a frail heart and died of a heart attack. She kept going despite her frailty which was obviously known to her.

She was admitted to hospital in November 2021. She became more seriously ill while in hospital and succumbed in December 9. She was known for her generosity. There was a funeral procession at 2 PM on 12 December 2021. The local newspaper reported on it.

The Facebook post tells me that her wish was that cat owners must always sterilise their cats and that people in general should love and have compassion for community cats. She wanted people to educate others on how to look after cats.

The Facebook post is written by Siau Li Chao who said that she knew Chen Tai since 2004. At that time she had just started feeding community cats. She met her in a pet shop. She was given guidance for which she was thankful.

She said that she had one vaccination by which I will presume she means one vaccination against Covid. She's kind of implying that Chen Tai died of Covid but I don't think that is what happened. In fact I'm sure of it because she died of a heart attack. But no doubt she took risks with Covid to help the cats. Although Singapore has a very good record in managing Covid.

Siau Li Chao says that somebody else has taken over caring for the community cats. They would have pleased her to know that.

Elderly woman’s phone, ID & ATM card stolen while feeding community cats

NEWS AND COMMENT-SINGAPORE: It's been reported that an elderly woman's phone, ID and ATM card were stolen while she was feeding community cats in Meiling Street. I get the distinct impression that this is a street which is known for community cats and where people feed them regularly. There is a Facebook page called Cats of MeilingSt. Google Maps calls it 'Mei Ling St.', which looks more accurate.

Allegedly Lim feeding community cats on Mei Ling St.. Photo: Microsoft News.

There is a post on that Facebook page which is embedded into this page below. Please note though that this may disappear in time because I'm reliant upon the person who posted it on Facebook to keep it on Facebook. They can delete it at any time.

ASSOCIATED PAGE: Singapore: 250 cats fall from high rise apartments every year. Fifty percent die on impact.

It is pretty self-explanatory. The alleged theft took place in broad daylight. Microsoft News have the story on their website but they say they are reviewing it's accuracy. They are implying that the social media source might not be reliable. My distinct impression is that it is reliable as it comes from this group of volunteers who feed cats on this particular Street in Singapore.

ASSOCIATED: Almost 80% of Singapore residents are barred from having a cat companion

The lady concerned is Lim. She was feeding cats and her phone was in her bag in a trolley beside her. As a result, they recommend that people feeding cats should keep their phone with them at all times, together with any other important documentation and cards et cetera. The thief allegedly walked by and put his hand in her bag. Very easy to do when the owner of the handbag is distracted while feeding community cats.