16 cats were found dead and hundreds were dehydrated when a group of animal rescuers broke into a cat boarding center in Season Square Plaza, Damansara Damai yesterday.
Suspicion of foul play arose when pet owners went straight to the premise to claim their pets after several attempts to do so was turned down by the shop operator.
They had previously sent their pets to the center for the week-long Hari Raya holiday, but became worried after seeing a Facebook message asking customers of the shop to check on their pets.
Upon entering the shop, they found many cats were starved, sickly and soaked in their own urine in small confined cages.
Founder of NGO AnimalCare, Chan Kah Yein described six of the rescued cats as worst of the lot and was “totally skin and bones” when she saw it at the vet.
She said an emaciated cat can only start mewing softly after being treated on drip for five minutes.
“Before that, she had no energy to even mew. She only made a strange-sounding noise. This is so pitiful and tragic,” she said in her blog posting.
Pet owner Azmi Othman is glad that they have broken into the premise.
“If we hadn’t, God knows how many more pets would have died of dehydration as they had been left without water and food for more than five days,” he told New Straits Times.
He said upon his arrival at the premise at 11am, he could smell the strong stench from the ground floor despite the shop being situated on the first floor.
The cats were undergoing treatment in Gasing Hopsital yesterday. By last night, 16 cats have died, which were mostly kittens and young cats.
Animal rescue volunteer Bazillah Bahrin now called on the pet owners to liaise with the group to claim their pets.
On another note, it was revealed that the shop is only allowed to sell cat food as its pet license expired in 2009.
The two operators were summoned by the police for interrogation last night, but were later released.
Several sources say that Petaling Jaya deputy police chief Supt Meor Hamdan confirmed that nine police reports were lodged, which led to the police’s decision to cut the locks and enter the premise.
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Jimmy Tan
