\n<\/p>\n
She had also planned to pursue a PhD after completing her master’s. But now, she has neither the time nor the capacity.<\/p>\n
“I’m not saying that this is a bad thing \u2026 but there’s still that sense of loss. Like, you work so hard, (then) something else happens and changes life’s course.”<\/p>\n
Her story is reminiscent of those of many other cat helpers I have spoken to in Singapore. Very often, such a journey may start by chance but snowballs rapidly beyond one’s expectations \u2013 with seemingly no way out.<\/p>\n
Despite the inroads Ms Amira has made, her task appears to be a Sisyphean one. The day we visited JB, shop workers in the vicinity lamented to her about sightings of new stray cats.<\/p>\n
“I would like to believe it’s just a postponement,” she said of her plans to further her studies. “But I don’t see how I can continue in the very near future if I have to do everything myself.”<\/p>\n
Ms Amira counts her blessings for the community support that she does get: A cat supplier in Singapore who occasionally donates cat food, as well as a pet food supplier and a vet clinic in JB that give her preferential rates.<\/p>\n
Most of the help she has received comes from Singaporeans, including donors and some regulars who tag along on her monthly TNR trips.<\/p>\n
Ms Rashida Hakimin, 32, a Malaysian who now manages Ms Amira’s shelter, said that she had already been helping cats on her own dime for the last 10 years \u2013 fostering strays in the most dire situations and sterilising two to three cats a month.<\/p>\n
For her, it was “destiny” that she came across Ms Amira’s social media posts in early 2023, when she herself was running low on funds to help the cats.<\/p>\n
It’s a “great relief” for Ms Rashida now that she and Ms Amira can pool their resources to help even more stray cats in need.<\/p>\n
“The burden I felt, I now don’t have to shoulder it alone.”<\/p>\n
Hardly any other Malaysians have offered Ms Amira help dealing with the problem in their own backyard.<\/p>\n
Instead of support, she often receives negative feedback and comments online.<\/p>\n
Some online users chide her for going “against nature” by sterilising cats and depriving them of the basic ability to procreate. This is despite guidance from the Islamic religious authorities in Singapore, Selangor and the Federal Territories of Malaysia stating that the neutering of animals is permissible to prevent harm.<\/p>\n
“If we don’t (neuter), more kittens will be born on the streets and have to live a life of suffering,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n