Our Great Feline Befrienders
Source: Marko Obrvan on Pexels
We acknowledge that as compared to canines, felines might not be as outgoing or friendly in the same manner. Cats are more solitary in nature, preferring to be independent most of the time – whether it’s chilling by a window ledge to observe the world outside or scouting about the house to discover new nooks and crannies.
However, that doesn’t mean that cattos are incapable of affection and bonding. In fact, the temperament of your cat plays a large role in determining how your cat interacts with you, other cats and its environment.
Source: Yerlin Matu on Unsplash
Because cats are so assured in what they’re comfortable or uncomfortable with, cats teach us an invaluable lesson on love: how to express love and appreciation to others the way they want to be loved. Depending on a cat’s type of love language, they would accept or reject different kinds of affection accordingly too.
Regardless, the frankness of cats is endearing because whenever they reciprocate the love that we give them, the satisfaction we enjoy in return is tenfold. With that being said, our cats go above and beyond in fulfilling their duties as companion pets — to the point where they do an even better job at helping us make friends and build communities with one another.
In an amusing turn of events, our fur babies have become our connectors with other fellow hoomans.
Bonding Over Kitties
Source: Tran Mau Tri Tam on Unsplash
A mutual love or ownership of cats often becomes the conversational mainstays in a lot of passing interactions, instantly transforming strangers into fast acquaintances/friends in the blink of an eye. This phenomenon is fascinating, to say the least, and we have our beloved fur pals to thank for that.
In general,
42% of pet owners claimed to have received at least one form of social support from fellow pet owners encountered through their pets.
Through the power of our cats, we become more inclined to socialise and befriend strangers in the neighbourhood as compared to non-cat owners.
On this topic, Lisa Wood[1] comments that companion animals are our “antidote” to “create opportunities for us to meet other people”, helping us to “break the ice between strangers” and acting as a “great social leveller” as grounds for commonality. Cats become our conduits for “introduc[ing] us to people we wouldn’t have met otherwise”.
Eventually, initial awkward interactions gradually blossom into broader social networks of support and interconnectedness, forming a full-fledged cat community within the neighbourhood.
Cat Community: From Indoor Interactions to Communal Connections
Thus contrary to popular belief, the growth of social support networks among people is not restricted to only outgoing pets like dogs.
In fact, indoor pets like cats have been shown to help foster human connections and friendships through the shared interests of kitties. Despite not being able to walk cats outdoors like dogs, cat owners have found innovative methods to transcend the physical confines of the four walls.
Physical Communities
Source: Niklas Hamann on Unsplash
For instance, stray cats are a common sight on the streets of Singapore. In spite of being strays, these roaming felines have somehow managed to unequivocally unite neighbourhoods all across the island state to feed and care for them.
We have tons of local cat organisations and communities such as the Cat Welfare Society, SPCA and even university groups NTU Cat Management Network and NUS Cat Cafe that provide feeding, maintenance, education, TNR (trap-neuter-release) initiatives and fundraising for the strays within the vicinity.
Although these stray cats don’t extrinsically belong to anyone in particular, residents within the neighbourhood and institutions are bonded over the sole purpose of caring for these precious babies. Just by existing, these stray cats have won over our hearts and endearingly attained the status of being our community cats.
Although there are communities and organisations targeted towards the care and TNR efforts of stray dogs, their population isn’t as rampant or prevalent as compared to stray cats. Needless to say, the phenomenon of cat communities and organisations is more unique to our feline friends, by virtue of the fact that there are statistically more stray cats than stray dogs in Singapore.
Online Communities
Source: Ga on Unsplash
While we might not be able to walk our cats outdoors like dogs to physically meet fellow cat owners out and about, cat owners have found innovative and creative ways to transcend the physical confines of their four walls – through the power of social media!
With the advent of social media and the internet, many cat owners have found camaraderie and support through online communities. By the very premise of being a cat owner, it becomes a common point of interest for internet strangers to bond over.
There are thousands of forums and social media accounts dedicated to documenting the escapades of our cattos.
(a) Facebook Groups
Source: Александар Цветановић on Pexels
One popular method to channel engagement amongst fellow cat-lovers is through Facebook community groups. There are tons of Facebook groups catering to all sorts of feline-related niches out there. Here are some local groups for your perusal.
- Sayang Our Singapore’s Community Cats
- Cats & Kittens of Singapore
- Singapore Cat Lovers Group
As stray cats tend to be a more common sighting in Singapore as compared to stray dogs, it’s not surprising how there are many cat community groups catered to appreciating our local cat population. The aforementioned Facebook groups are excellent examples of such.
However, apart from featuring community cats and their feeders, these community groups also feature a plethora of other submissions ranging from dedicated posts to lost-and-found requests to cat freebie giveaways. These pages truly cover it all.
Alternatively, for those who want to procure their hands on some guaranteed top-quality cat products to pamper their kitty, head on over to our Clubpets E-store for some of the best deals on the market.
(b) Instagram Cat-fluencers
Source: Markus Winkler on Unsplash
The number of cat social media accounts that have arisen is astounding. There are so many cat influencers these days, it’s hard to keep up. Nevertheless, cat-fluencers are a great way to keep up with the local kitty community and to show support to all these adorable felines as well as engage with fellow cat-lovers in Singapore.
Some local cat-fluencers for you to follow include:
● Gojiberry (@travislovesgojiberry)
Source: @travislovesgojiberry
A refined posture, expressive eyes and an inquisitive look, it’s hard for anyone not to fall in love with the queen that is Gojiberry. Having been rescued from an ambush of stray dogs when she was just a kitten, Gojiberry unfortunately sustained a leg injury that left her limping till now. Regardless, she definitely demonstrates a commendable fighting spirit to blossom into the beautiful tricoloured kitty that she is today.
● Moché (@moche_themochi)
Source: @moche_themochi
True to her name, Moché is as sweet as mochi. Get ready to be lured in by her gorgeous icy blue eyes as this fluffy Scottish Fold-Ragdoll mixed beauty amazes and entertains us with her hilarious but endearing antics.
● Bailey (@_dailybailey__)
Source: @_dailybailey_
With all the grace and poise he can possibly muster, Mr Bailey over here is the picture definition of kitty perfection. Regardless of where Mr Bailey is, he’ll always find a way to liven up the atmosphere. The world is his oyster and we’re all just living in it as his side characters.
From fitting through ridiculously small crevices and boxes to gracefully navigating past an obstacle course stacked with mountains of toilet rolls, it’s never a dull moment watching our cats interact with their surroundings. (Although let’s be honest, most of the time it’s our cats that gracefully tolerate our shenanigans…)
