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  Today Online 8 Sep 06
Claws out for cats
She, and network volunteers, keep felines safe on the streets

Coffee With: Sharifah Khamis 40s, cat lover and volunteer
BY Vidya Heble vidya@newstoday.com.sg

SHE'S hailed by some as a champion of the under-cat, reviled by a few residents for feeding "pests".

But there's no dispute in the eyes of the law that Madam Sharifah Khamis deserved a commendation for nabbing one of society's criminals: A repeat cat abuser.

When David Hooi, 42 — who was earlier this year sentenced to three months' jail for animal abuse — was suspected of going back to his old habits, Mdm Sharifah had joined other cat feeders in the Chai Chee area to catch him at it.

They did, and late last month, Sharifah received a certificate of commendation from the Singapore Police Force for her role in his arrest. Hooi, a serial cat tormentor who has been diagnosed as suffering from anti-social personality disorder, is now at the Institute of Mental Health. His scheduled court sentencing yesterday was postponed on medical grounds.

"I hope they keep him in IMH," says Ms Sharifah. "That's where he should be."

In her 40s, Sharifah works part-time at a sales job. But what she sees as her real work is in the evenings.

As a registered feeder with the Housing and Development Board (HDB), Mdm Sharifah cares for the cats in her area. Many live with her too. About 20 to 30 resident felines — some are free to come and go at will — share the neat and tidy three-room flat with Mdm Sharifah and her relative.

As we chat, a deliveryman arrives with a sack of cat food. Mdm Sharifah puzzles over the invoice — she doesn't have to pay the man, as it is an anonymous donation. Sharifah mentally ticks off the names of friends who could have dispatched the largesse.

She spends an average of $600 per month on cat-related expenses: Food, medicine, sterilisation costs. Most clinics give a discount on sterilisation for stray cats, but the costs still add up.

With a little help from her friends, organisations and sometimes anonymous well-wishers, Mdm Sharifah manages.

On occasion, people with sick cats call her to heal them. She buys medicine from clinics and spends time with the cat. "I give them a traditional massage and make sure they are all right," she says.

She has always loved cats, she says. When she was young, she would feed a stray but her mother didn't like it being in the house. Then one day, she chuckles, the cat called her mother "Ma" instead of saying "Miaow" — and won her over. "This cat loved durian," she remembers. "And he hated people wearing shorts!"

So when people like Hooi crop up, Mdm Sharifah will put all on the line to protect her furry friends. Hooi pleaded guilty in July to bashing up a kitten; it had to be put down because of its injuries.

She and her friends kept a lookout every evening and called the police when they found evidence that he had taken a cat into his house and was probably hurting it.

"My friend kept him talking while I called the police," she recalls of the evening. Asked if she was afraid Hooi's friends would try to harm her or others for their role in his arrest, she says emphatically: "He has no friends."

Most residents near his flat are elderly people, and are afraid of him, she says. "They hear him shouting, and they close their doors and windows."

Some volunteers have complained of being given the run-around when they try to get the police to investigate animal abuse reports.

"The police are good to me," says Mdm Sharifah. "They know me, and they always come immediately if I call them to report any problem."

In fact, after Hooi was released following his first offence earlier this year, someone from the police station would call every now and then to check that she was all right, she laughs. "But I am not afraid."

Of course, she also has the support of the area's other feeders — it was this strong network that helped nab Hooi.

And the story hasn't ended with Hooi's second arrest — Mdm Sharifah is now part of the posse investigating the latest instances of cat abuse in Jurong.

She was also among the volunteers who tracked down the Old Airport Road cat killer, Wong Geng Thong.

She is glad the police recognised her contribution, but that hasn't changed her except, perhaps, to make her even more determined to protect cats and spread this message: "It's good to feed and take care of cats. It brings you good luck."
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