Category: Thoughts

  • It’s all about being the kindest person you can be

    Michael Buble is one of my favourite singers. Here’s a lesson from him: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6499275/Michael-Buble-says-doesnt-s-t-album-sells-one-10-million-copies.html  Quote: ‘Every second I get to promise myself to be the nicest, kindest person I can be. Everything else has gone out of the window – I can’t control them.’ Photo courtesy of https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6499275/Michael-Buble-says-doesnt-s-t-album-sells-one-10-million-copies.html

  • Let’s hear it from the cat!

  • “Stray-free” vs “Stray-Friendly” – writing again!

    In October 2013, I wrote this: https://animalcare.my/2013/10/25/stray-free-vs-stray-friendly/ What I wrote back then is still relevant, so let me just cut and paste what I wrote, with some editing: Recently, a lot of people forwarded a petition to us urging us to sign it. It was lobbying for a “stray-free” community. Many rescuers and animal caregivers signed…

  • Million-dollar question

    A very inspiring article with excellent suggestions for those doing or intending to running a charity: https://www.animalsheltering.org/magazine/articles/million-dollar-question

  • Some reflections – to force or not

    Did you listen to the entire interview between Dr Karen Becker and Dr Lisa Pierson on feeding CKD cats? Dr Pierson’s voice (over the phone) was quite soft, so I had to strain my ears to listen. In the last part, they talked about respecting the cat and not forcing the cat into doing or…

  • Animal hoarding is a mental disorder

    The article: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2017/09/18/animal-hoarding-disorder/#.WcEVJ8h95RY?platform=hootsuite  

  • Some reflections

    For the last one week, ever since we were informed that the Selangor Neutering Subsidy (SENS) is open to all Selangorians (those who have a Selangor address on their IC’s), we have been gradually informing our many Selangor regular applicants that they are now eligible to apply for the Selangor government funds. The criteria for…

  • The very thin line

    Here’s sharing a story: Some time ago, someone in the neighbourhood circulated a council’s hotline for catching stray animals, to the entire neighbourhood whatsapp group. The text came in as I was having lunch after work. I immediately replied and pleaded with all neighbours not to call the council. I explained what would happen if animals…

  • The bottom line

    On 23rd March 2017, Stray-Free Selangor was launched. It received the support of the Menteri Besar of Selangor as well as the Royal Household. The news: http://www.thestar.com.my/metro/community/2017/03/24/humane-way-to-deal-with-strays-in-selangor-state-to-ensure-local-councils-use-spaying-and-neutering/#31pD4iy8wTl3zLby.99 On 13th March 2017, a certain online community newspaper published an invitation by a certain council in Selangor to catch stray cats. Then, in their April hardcopy edition which came out…

  • The “dark” side of empathy – when it’s too much

    Koo shared this article: http://jessicadolce.com/the-dark-side-of-empathy-when-too-much-turns-into-none/ I think it’s very applicable to animal caregivers. It talks about giving “too much” until one becomes “numb” to suffering and while this may numb oneself to sadness, it may not be necessarily a good thing. Feeling sad is necessary, in order for us to experience real joy. Remember Disney’s Inside…

  • Reminiscing George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”

    It was an allegorical and political novel, but I’ve always remembered the “Seventh Commandment” in the story: “All animals are equal but some are more equal than others”. It was my father who first shared this with me when I was very young (but old enough to understand what that meant).  I finally read the novel…

  • Compassion Fatigue and Compassion Satisfaction – beware of burnout

    Koo shares this wonderful article: http://notesfromadogwalker.com/2013/09/07/self-care-is-not-optional-how-burnout-ended-my-career-at-the-shelter/ Compassion fatigue is the exhaustion due to the stress and demand of being empathetic and helpful to those who are suffering. Animal caregivers may experience this and not realise it. It eventually leads to burnout and once that happens, turning back may be difficult. To avoid compassion fatigue, one must…

  • Freedom’s new frontier: Animal rights ideas to ponder upon

    If you are an animal lover, you might be interested to read these: Source: http://www.care2.com/causes/freedoms-new-frontier-a-guide-to-animal-rights.html To animal advocates faced with the harsh reality of this situation, it is abundantly clear that we have an enormous amount of work to do to shift society’s current paradigm from one of unimaginable and extreme violence to one of relatively…

  • Does posting bad news do any good?

    This is not about all the rumour-mongering and speculative posts that have flooded the social media over the sad and mysterious disappearance of MH370. Rather, this is about the many posts on animal welfare that we see on the social media, including this blog, on a daily basis. You might have noticed that we seldom…

  • Reflections