PUBLISHED November 4th, 2016 07:00 am | UPDATED March 26th, 2019 05:47 pm
If you are a cat owner (or more correctly, owned by your cat) or have friends with feline companions, you’ll be no stranger to the fact that cats are magical. The volunteers of Love Kuching Project (LKP) know this: after all, they have seen their cats do magic, or more specifically, have transformative impact on the lives of the elderly, and the intellectually handicapped.
LKP is one of the only animal welfare groups in Singapore that provides cat therapy sessions. Every month, their volunteers, both feline and human, commit to events at different places – the Thye Hua Kwan Home for the Disabled, the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS), Ren Ci Nursing Homes, and more.
During these sessions, the cats interact with the beneficiaries; they climb into awaiting laps, are hugged and patted, and purr up a storm. In October, when the LKP team again visited Thye Hua Kwan Home for the Disabled, they were greeted enthusiastically by the residents. These residents, all adults with their own unique needs, were excited to see the cats, many of whom have now become dear friends after months of interacting with the same residents, bringing them comfort and relaxation.
LKP’s feline volunteers nearly all have inspiring rescue stories of their own. Cats like Arang and Atan were themselves rescued by LKP members when they were just kittens, and came to the shelter with various health complications such as diarrhoea and fleas. The volunteers of the shelter devoted much time, love, and funds to the care of Arang and Atan, who blossomed into healthy and loving cats. Arang, pure jet black and energetic, took to his new lease of life with gusto; he has even been guilty of stealing the food of much older cats at his foster home, to their shock and chagrin!
Atan, a tabby, developed nurturing instincts even in his kittenhood, and would take younger and newer kittens under his wing, grooming, cuddling, and playing with them. They were adopted together, and spend their time meaningfully at these cat therapy sessions, where their loving and placid natures are put to good use in calming and comforting their beneficiaries.
Love Kuching Project is proud of their rescue and therapy work; the volunteers are committed not just to their feline charges, but also to helping these cats help other members of our society, who greatly benefit from their company. The shelter, being small and not-for-profit, requires consistent support from the public. Funds and donations go a long way in helping them rescue more kittens like Arang and Atan, and in turn, allow these cats to (literally and metaphorically) touch human lives.
If you would like to contribute to their good work and to enable their rescue efforts and therapy sessions, you can donate to Love Kuching Project via bank deposit or via their marathon fundraiser. Alternatively, the shelter also welcomes food or litter donations, all of which are made available at charity rates with free delivery when purchased from Pawfection, a local pet store. They are always on the lookout for volunteers for their cat therapy sessions – if you (or your cat!) are keen, do drop them a line at outreach@lovekuchingproject.org.
This post was contributed by our friends at Love Kuching Project. For more information, please see their website or follow their daily adventures on Facebook and Instagram.