Madam Doreen has been feeding stray cats near her home for 15 years. She lives with her daughter and 12 cats in a small apartment. However, her neighbor complained to the Housing Development Board about the number of cats, forcing Doreen to sell her house. She is moving in with her son but is worried he and his wife will not be happy with the cats. Doreen hopes to find a new home and support herself through two part-time jobs rather than depend on her children.

1. Cat
Lady
Woman’s Best Friend: Madam Doreen has been feeding stray cats, below her block, for about 15 years. Whenever she takes a
trip down to the mini-mart, a road away from her house, the cats would follow close behind her.
S
etting herself down slowly
on the cold cement floor,
she gazes upon the white
swan cradled in her calloused
hands. With tears brimming in her
eyes, she caresses its fine detail one
last time and wraps the antique
glassware in sheets of newspaper.
It was a gift from her husband
– the white swan. The man gave
it to her some 20 years ago, when
they first moved in to their three-
room apartment in Ang Mo
Kio. He had since passed away.
With time, Madam Doreen learnt
to accept his absence and moved on
with her life. However a year later,
shewasfacedwithanotherdilemma
which drove her to take a weighty
decision – she sold her house.
Doreen works as part-time
kindergarten bus attendant.
With the job, she takes home a
meagre salary of about $150 a
month. Though barely enough,
the 60-year-old spends part of her
salary on tins of cat food. “The
cats below have no one; I feed
them every day even if I don’t have
enough for myself. Feeding the cats
makes me happy.” Her daughter’s
full-time job keeps the two alive.
Both Doreen and her 23-year-
old daughter live together in the
three-room apartment, along with
12 cats who share their home.
Cramped with packed cardboard
boxes and old, worn out furniture,
their apartment is made somewhat
cosy with the company of the cats.
“I feel comfortable with the cats
around, I have a dog too. They
can sense when I’m sick or sad;
they will look at me and rub their
face on mine,” says the elderly
lady. Though Doreen feels at
peace with her feline companions,
her neighbours feel otherwise.
“I have to leave my house in a few
days,” says Doreen. “My neighbour
complained to HDB about the cats”.
This incident was not the first
of its kind; Doreen received
an ultimatum from the
Housing Development Board
a year ago for keeping too
many cats in her apartment.
“I sold my house three months
ago, [because] I didn’t want any
more trouble from the neighbour.
Why stay here when they hate
my cats and what I do?” Though
she feels a sense of relief leaving
the area, Doreen also has mixed
feelings about leaving the cats.
“I have to give away nine cats;
they [HDB] only allow three cats
when I move to the other house.”
According to HDB’s housing law,
‘flat owners are not allowed to keep
cats in HDB flats, as it is generally
difficult to confine cats within
the flat premises’. With Doreen’s
case, though, she was allowed to
keep a maximum of three cats.
Doreen and her daughter will be
living together with her son and
his wife in their new four-room
apartment. “I am happy that my
son asked me to stay with him
but I don’t think he and his wife
are happy,” lamented Doreen.
Doreen’s son had bought a
house under his mother’s name.
However, because Doreen did
Photo by: Rachel Melanie Leo
not have sufficient funds in her
Central Provident Fund the house
was bought under her son’s name.
“I think in a year time, I would
have to find another house,” says
Doreen. “My son wanted to send
me to a home last time, but my
daughter stopped him. Now,
[if] I stay with them his wife not
happy; she don’t (sic) like the cats.”
Faced with such a situation,
Doreen went to the town council
to seek help from the Minster
of Parliament. “I asked him for
monetary help but he didn’t
help me at all. He said that
I have two children who are
working full-time, so I should
ask them to take care of me.”
Doreen hopes that she would
be able to pull through with
the help of her daughter. “My
CPF not enough, I need to go
to work. I don’t want to depend
on my daughter so much also.”
“I want my family to be happy,
so I’m getting a second job to earn
more money. I don’t have a choice.”
• Doreen has since moved to
her new apartment in Yishun
• She now has two part-time
jobs
• Residents in Ang Mo Kio who
know of Doreen and her deed
have taken over; they now feed
the stray cats daily
• Most of her cats have been
adopted by willing owners.
Currently...
“Who would feed them now?” With the selling of her apartment, Madam
Doreen worries for the stray cats.
“Isoldmyhouse...
Ididn’twantanymoretrouble...”
Photo by: Rachel Melanie Leo
By: Rachel Melanie Leo