{"id":81040,"date":"2026-08-31T17:27:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T09:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=81040"},"modified":"2026-08-31T17:27:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T09:27:00","slug":"over-111000-pet-cats-licensed-since-start-of-new-ownership-rules-transition-period-ends-on-aug-31","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=81040","title":{"rendered":"Over 111,000 pet cats licensed since start of new ownership rules; transition period ends on Aug 31"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"text-primary article-summary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SINGAPORE \u2013 <!-- -->More than 111,000 pet cats have been licensed in the two years since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/pet-cat-licensing-scheme-kicks-in-on-sept-1-here-s-what-you-need-to-know?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">new rules for cat ownership were rolled out in Singapore<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Giving this update in a Facebook post on Aug 31, Minister of State for National Development and Foreign Affairs Alvin Tan urged those who have yet to microchip and license their pet cats to do so soon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cMicrochipping and licensing our pet cats enhance traceability and owner accountability, and make it easier to identify and reunite lost cats with their owners,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The pet cat licensing scheme was rolled out under the Cat Management Framework on Sept 1, 2024, making it mandatory for all pet cats to be microchipped and licensed to enhance traceability.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Tan said the two-year transition period allowing owners to ease into the new requirements will end on Aug 31.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">A one-time cat licence with lifetime validity is free for all cat owners during this period, following which a one-year licence will cost $15 for a sterilised cat and $90 for an unsterilised cat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">From Sept 1, it will be an offence under the Animals and Birds Act to keep unlicensed pet cats. Those found to be doing so may be fined up to $5,000.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">During the transition period, the Animal &amp; Veterinary Service (AVS) also supported close to 170 free microchipping drives islandwide, with over 13,000 pet cats microchipped, Tan said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In addition, more than 6,300 pet cats from over<!-- --> <!-- -->2,900 lower-income households have benefitted from free sterilisation and microchipping under the Pet Cat Sterilisation Support programme.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Cat owners are encouraged to sterilise their cats to prevent unintended breeding, which may lead to overpopulation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Sterilisation can also reduce the risks of certain cancers and prevent womb infections, AVS said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In his Facebook post, Tan said the standard cat ownership limits will also apply for new licence applications from Sept 1. Those living in HDB flats can have a maximum of two cats, while those in private residences can keep up to three cats or dogs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Pet owners who have gone over the permitted limits are allowed to keep their existing pet cats if the animals were licensed during the transition period. These existing pet cats must have been owned before Sept 1, 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Tan said that over 4,700 community cats have been part of the Trap-Neuter-Rehome\/Release-Manage programme.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">As part of this initiative, AVS provides enhanced funding support for the sterilisation and microchipping of community cats while funding additional components, such as trapping and boarding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In August, AVS rolled out a pilot scheme allowing approved cat fosterers to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/cat-fosterers-to-be-allowed-up-to-six-cats-in-hdb-flats-under-new-pilot?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">keep up to six cats in HDB flats<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and up to 10 cats on private premises. All cats in foster care must be sterilised.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The pilot scheme was rolled out in recognition of the roll played by cat fosterers in providing a safe home for cats in need, as well as in reducing the number of free-roaming cats in the community.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/over-111000-pet-cats-licensed-since-start-of-new-ownership-rules-transition-period-to-end-on-aug-31\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SINGAPORE \u2013 More than 111,000 pet cats have been licensed in the two years since new rules for cat ownership were rolled out in Singapore&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":81041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/81041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=81040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=81040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}