Justice for Cats!

I read in horror about the Petknode debacle. There is no excuse for such thing to happen. What were they thinking?

I do not know the real story.. I’ve never heard of “Petknode” before this either. But from the bits and pieces of news that I read from the newspapers, I gather the followings:

1) The owners have a good track record prior to this incident

2) They have been around for a long time

3) They are animal lovers; they have cats of their own too

4) They save strays and recently, took in cats for boarding during festive seasons.

If that is the case, why did they take in too many cats? Why offer such low boarding fee when you know you don’t have enough staff to handle the cats? RM3.99 per day is a scream from the usual RM14.99 that they charge. Obviously many people would want to send their cats there. Why accept when you damn know you don’t have enough staff, space and food for all the 300 cats during the one-week break??

I’m just trying to think what went through the 2 guys’ heads when they made the offer. “We take in these cats, leave some food in their cages and balik kampong for raya. They should be ok for at least 3-4 days... cats have 9 lives..”

A true animal lover would never do such thing. They would never abandon the cats just like that.

The “pet shop boys” have made their peace and apologized alright. But is that enough? Is it enough to say, “We admit we mishandled the cats. But we were short handed... We are very sorry." Eh, you are not Rupert Murdoch lah, this is not the newspaper business! You’re talking about “life” here.

Kalau tempat jaga kucing tu terbakar ke, I can understand. Kucing tu mati sebab kebakaran which cannot be avoided. But in this case, it was pre-planned and CAN BE avoided, if they wanted too. They cannot get away just by issuing a public apology like that. It’s very insensitive to the cat owners!

My questions to them: Didn’t you know you were going to be shorthanded? Did your staff (if indeed you had any) just disappeared during raya and never returned, that’s why the cats were abandoned?

If indeed that happened (ie. the staff ran away), a responsible caretaker would contact the cat owners and tell them to pick up their cats as an emergency had happened. They could add that if they did not collect the cats, there is a good chance the cats may starve to death, and return the owner’s money. If I were the cat owner, I would pick up my cats right away or get someone to collect them if I’m out of town. That way, no one can be blamed.

I know for a fact, if you sent a stray cat to SPCA, the caretaker would tell you upfront that they would put down the cat if it is not in a healthy condition or too old for keep. At least you are forewarned and it’s really up to you to decide whether to leave the cat there or take it home with you.

Bottom line is, if you can’t promise to provide shelter for the cats, don’t commit like those people at Petknode.

Hish.. I’m so angry at such irresponsible acts. I hope the petshop owners would be fairly punished. One person suggested that they should be caged for 1-week without food and water just like the cats did. Probably that would be a justified punishment for them. That way, I am sure for the rest of their lives, they would never ill-treated cats ever again.

Justice for cats!