The museum will house cats up for adoption, as well as specially-curated cat art and photos
By Emilia Tan, TODAY, 9 Jan 2015
Housed in a heritage shophouse along 8 Purvis Street, the museum will help people learn more about cats through interactions with the felines, shared Ms Jessica Seet, founder of the three-storey exhibition.
“Our mission as a social enterprise is to change the community’s mindset towards cats and animals, and to create an interest in our local kitties…We also want to inspire our local artistic community to create art around the real cats on our premises, and find homes for the orphaned kitties, while working closely with the Cat Welfare Society in Singapore,” the 48-year-old former Gold 90.5FM DJ who runs her own voice-coaching company, Art Of Voice, added.
The cat museum has also launched a campaign, “SG50 Lion City Kitties Find A Home”, with the goal to rehome 50 cats. They hope to celebrate SG50 by helping orphan cats find homes by this year’s national day.
The felines up for adoption will be housed at the third level, to allow potential adopters see the cats in their most natural state, and hopefully convince more people to adopt. The campaign began on Dec 9 last year and 12 cats have already been adopted.
Aside from specially-curated cat photographs and art and crafts from around the world, Lion City Kitty features the history of cats around the world as well as touching stories of cats and their humans. These excerpts also highlight the important roles these felines play in each community.
Aside from specially-curated cat photographs and art and crafts from around the world, Lion City Kitty features the history of cats around the world as well as touching stories of cats and their humans. These excerpts also highlight the important roles these felines play in each community.
Ms Seet said opening hours would be kept short, from Friday to Sunday, 2pm to 9pm weekly, to avoid stressing the felines in the museum. At each time, only 20 people will be allowed in the museum to avoid overcrowding.
There will also be an admission fee of S$9 while entry for children below six years old will be free of charge.
Hello, kitty may get to Marine Parade yet
Cat project may be expanded, after Chong Pang's pilot gets 2-year extension
By Carolyn Khew, The Sunday Times, 11 Jan 2015
Cat project may be expanded, after Chong Pang's pilot gets 2-year extension
By Carolyn Khew, The Sunday Times, 11 Jan 2015
Cat lovers in Chong Pang will get to keep felines in their Housing Board (HDB) flats for another two years under a pilot scheme which could soon make its way to Marine Parade GRC.
The Love Cats programme, which covers about 120 blocks in the area, was launched in October 2012 and was supposed to be for two years.
But the Ministry of National Development (MND) told The Sunday Times that it has been extended by another two years.
This is to give the ministry time to "monitor and assess the impact of the initiative", which allows residents to keep felines at home despite HDB's rules forbidding it.
To date, 126 households are registered under the pilot.
Most Chong Pang residents whom The Sunday Times spoke to, such as Ms Goh Chai Yoek, 58, said they had few issues with the extension as long as the pet owners are responsible.
Most Chong Pang residents whom The Sunday Times spoke to, such as Ms Goh Chai Yoek, 58, said they had few issues with the extension as long as the pet owners are responsible.
Ms Goh, who works part-time at a Taoist temple, said: "If the cat is owned by someone, I think the owner will keep a close eye on it and not let it roam about."
But a 76-year-old Yishun resident, who wanted to be known only as Mr Lim, said the cats can be quite "unhygienic".
He has lived in the area for seven years, and said cats have messed up his potted plants.
When asked, MND said the Cat Welfare Society (CWS) received a few complaints - believed to be fewer than 10 - during the pilot scheme; the complaints were of cats roaming beyond their owners' premises, for instance.
The MND spokesman said: "CWS has since worked with owners to address the concerns and ensure that their cats do not continue to inconvenience other residents."
CWS chief executive officer Joanne Ng said it investigates relevant feedback from residents.
She stressed the need for ongoing education for cat owners to understand their responsibilities, and to "promote greater awareness on integrating animals and pets into our community".
Last Friday, Law Minister K. Shanmugam announced in his speech during the launch of Singapore's first cat museum, a three-storey centre in Purvis Street, that the pilot could be expanded to other areas.
Mr Louis Ng, founder of Animal Concerns Research and Education Society, said the wildlife rescue group is exploring the possibility of expanding the pilot to Marine Parade GRC.
"We do have cat feeders in the Kembangan-Chai Chee areas, so they welcome the project.
"There are also quite a number of cat lovers in the area so the support is there," said Mr Ng, who is also a Kembangan-Chai Chee grassroots leader.
The initiative screens prospective cat owners, and requires that the animals be microchipped. There is a mediation process, run by CWS, in the case of disputes.
Madam Hannidah Hanim, who lives at an HDB block in Yishun Ring Road in Chong Pang, is glad she can keep her Siamese mixed breed, which she says has been toilet-trained and microchipped.
"I was afraid that we wouldn't be able to keep her," she said.
She added that there have been no complaints about her cat so far.
And her neighbours have taken a liking to Gujibam.
"They even offer to feed her," she said.
Madam Hannidah suggested that CWS could consider holding workshops to educate residents on cat behaviour and how to care for them.
The 51-year-old, who helps out at her husband's food business, hopes the HDB will consider lifting the ban on cats down the road.
"Cats can be very comforting." she said.
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* Cat museum founder not being evicted, says MND
By Lydia Lam, The Straits Times, 8 Sep 2017
The founder of a volunteer-run cat museum is not being forced out of her premises, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said in a statement on Facebook last night.
A number of online sites had suggested that Ms Jessica Seet, founder of The Lion City Kitty - The Cat Museum, Muses & Mansion, located on the second storey of 8 Purvis Street, and the cats she kept were being evicted by the MND after an inspection by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
"MND did not evict Ms Seet from her premises. In an inspection of the premises in early 2017, URA officers found that the third-storey residential unit had been illegally converted into a cat shelter and adoption centre. Visitors entering the third-storey unit had to first purchase a ticket at the Cat Museum," MND said.
Ms Seet, 51, is a tenant of the second to fourth storeys of the building, with the third and fourth storeys registered as her residences.
MND said URA had issued an enforcement notice to stop the unauthorised use of the third-storey unit and have it reverted back to residential use.
"The notice does not affect the Cat Museum on the second storey. It also does not restrict Ms Seet from keeping and fostering her cats in her own residential premises," the statement added.
The museum has been operating for about 21/2 years.
Ms Seet told The Straits Times that she had appealed against the enforcement action in June, but was told by MND last month that her appeal had been rejected.
Meanwhile, the building's landlord has also decided not to renew Ms Seet's lease for the third- and fourth-storey units after its expiry at the end of this month.
MND said: "This is a contractual matter between the landlord and Ms Seet. It is a decision made by the landlord and has nothing to do with the URA enforcement."
Ms Seet, who also runs a training company, said she is looking for new homes for the cats and has started a fund-raising campaign to raise $25,000 to rent a new space for the felines, and for equipment to care for neonatal kittens. As of 7.30pm yesterday, $11,500 had been raised.
"We appreciate the good work being done by Ms Seet in caring for the stray cats," said MND. "But this should not be done through illegal usage of residential space."
It added that it will do its best to assist if Ms Seet needs help looking for an alternative space for a cat shelter and adoption centre.
By Lydia Lam, The Straits Times, 8 Sep 2017
The founder of a volunteer-run cat museum is not being forced out of her premises, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said in a statement on Facebook last night.
A number of online sites had suggested that Ms Jessica Seet, founder of The Lion City Kitty - The Cat Museum, Muses & Mansion, located on the second storey of 8 Purvis Street, and the cats she kept were being evicted by the MND after an inspection by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
"MND did not evict Ms Seet from her premises. In an inspection of the premises in early 2017, URA officers found that the third-storey residential unit had been illegally converted into a cat shelter and adoption centre. Visitors entering the third-storey unit had to first purchase a ticket at the Cat Museum," MND said.
Ms Seet, 51, is a tenant of the second to fourth storeys of the building, with the third and fourth storeys registered as her residences.
MND said URA had issued an enforcement notice to stop the unauthorised use of the third-storey unit and have it reverted back to residential use.
"The notice does not affect the Cat Museum on the second storey. It also does not restrict Ms Seet from keeping and fostering her cats in her own residential premises," the statement added.
The museum has been operating for about 21/2 years.
Ms Seet told The Straits Times that she had appealed against the enforcement action in June, but was told by MND last month that her appeal had been rejected.
Meanwhile, the building's landlord has also decided not to renew Ms Seet's lease for the third- and fourth-storey units after its expiry at the end of this month.
MND said: "This is a contractual matter between the landlord and Ms Seet. It is a decision made by the landlord and has nothing to do with the URA enforcement."
Ms Seet, who also runs a training company, said she is looking for new homes for the cats and has started a fund-raising campaign to raise $25,000 to rent a new space for the felines, and for equipment to care for neonatal kittens. As of 7.30pm yesterday, $11,500 had been raised.
"We appreciate the good work being done by Ms Seet in caring for the stray cats," said MND. "But this should not be done through illegal usage of residential space."
It added that it will do its best to assist if Ms Seet needs help looking for an alternative space for a cat shelter and adoption centre.
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