Ever experienced having super glue stuck on your hand and feeling frustrated at not being able to remove it? Imagine if that were to happen to half of your entire body. There was an unfortunate case of an adult cat being caught on a glue trap just two months back in Jurong West (http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/spca-calls-ban-glue-traps-spca-calls-ban-120157452.html and http://sg.news.yahoo.com/firm-fined-but-%E2%80%98not-wholly-responsible%E2%80%99-for-cat%E2%80%99s-death--ava.html) and the poor creature had to be euthanised due to the severity of her condition. We believe that is not an isolated case and there are definitely other occurrences. Sad to say, to the dismay of many animal lovers, glue traps have yet to be banned by the authorities.
It was a rare occasion that H was able to sleep in. The buzzing handphone roused her from sleep in the morning. As H scrolled through the message, the attached image jolted her up from her half-awake stupor.
The first thought that came to H’s mind (and many others when H showed them the photo thereafter) was that the kitten was burnt. As H stared at the image further, that did not appear to be the case. Regardless, H immediately called her friend to gather more details and with a cat carrier in hand, H was swiftly on her way down to Bukit Batok. During H’s journey there, the lady who was seeking help for the kitten informed H that the kitten had run back to the bin centre to hide. A kind-hearted soul had actually managed to remove the kitten from a glue trap but did not know how to help the kitten further. As the kitten was placed in a low basket, it ran off shortly after.
Upon arrival at the scene, H saw a huge glue trap at the entrance of the bin centre. The grotesque image of the Jurong West glue trap case immediately came to mind – the expression on the adult cat’s face was firmly enacted in H’s mind although she had only read the article once. H instinctively grabbed hold of some waste paper around and stuck it onto part of the glue trap. Though it was insufficient, her priority was to render help to the kitten first.
Holding her breath and having rolled up her denim jeans, H went into the bin centre with G to try to locate the kitten. It was almost noon at that time and the stallholders from the market nearby were packing up for the day. Stallholders with pails of trash were throwing H and G weird stares and at the same time discarding wet waste such as fish scales, intestines and the like into the huge bins just beside them. It was honestly not a pleasant sight and we believe no further details are needed to describe the scenario.
After what seemed like eternity in the bin centre, H and G went out for a breather. One stallholder was kind enough to advise them to seek help from the cleaner to unlock the area beside the bin centre entrance so that they could try searching for the kitten there as well. They went back in to find the cleaner as he was said to be residing in a room inside the bin centre but he did not seem to be around. Thankfully, he returned after a short while and after explaining the situation to him, he immediately undid the padlock to let them in.
Both H and G had thought that it was unlikely for the kitten to be found there but they still tried their luck nonetheless. H then spotted some brown fur inside a big black bin and they stared at it momentarily to figure out what it actually was. All of a sudden, there was movement from that motionless pile! Their jaws dropped and a long-haired lady (whom H heard was also a stallholder from the nearby market) swiftly reached out into the bin to grab the kitten out.
The kitten was merely a month old. The right side of its tiny body had loose wire, styrofoam pieces and bits of dirt amongst many other things stuck on it. It kept meowing non-stop and its gums appeared terribly pale. A couple of stallholders had already gathered around by then and H only managed to speak to them briefly before departing the scene. Some seemed to know who the culprit was but were reluctant to reveal anything. As they were in a rush, H and G unfortunately did not manage to get more details but had asked the lady who had grabbed the kitten out to help get rid of the glue trap lest more cats or other animals fall victim to it.
Most vet clinics were closed that day given that it was a public holiday but H and G had to get the glue off the kitten soonest possible. After numerous frantic phone calls, H and G brought the kitten to a friend’s place. As soon as they reached L’s home, L used kerosene to slowly rid the glue off the kitten. The kitten was extremely lucky; there was also glue just by its right eye but thank goodness the glue did not get into the eye. The glue removal process took quite a while and they hurriedly bathed and dried the kitten thereafter for fear of the sweet young thing catching a cold.
We are very appreciative to P for kindly agreeing to help foster the kitten at such short notice. It is also a great blessing that P is experienced with handling cats. G had tried feeding the kitten some milk formula after its bath but it did not take any. H and G believed that it might still be in a state of shock, so they decided to let the kitten settle down at P’s place first, after which P would syringe-feed it.
We earnestly hope to bring more awareness with regard to the cruelty of the use of glue traps and implore pest control companies or even individuals to use more humane methods in dealing with pests. We have reported this incident to the authorities and will be working with them on the matter. Cats might not have been the intended ‘pests’ to be caught in this particular case and this kitten is a lucky little one who managed to survive the ordeal. Had no one discovered it in time or had it been stuck elsewhere, it might have starved to death or even got bitten by rats.
On a happier note, the kitten is recuperating well at P’s place but is in need of a loving home. If you would like to open your heart and home to this little one, please email us at noahsarkcares@gmail.com. We believe Kitty will be lucky enough to have a place to call home too.
**UPDATE**
Unfortunately, the kitten did not make it. We understand that it was brought to the vet the very next day but due to its tender age and toxity of the glue, it was unable to pull through this traumatic ordeal. Rest in peace little one, our thoughts are with you.
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