Cat Beach Sanctuary welcomes visitors from all over the world. — Cat Beach Sanctuary/Instagram
It is unfortunate that the number of stray cats in Malaysia has been on the rise, but thankfully more animal shelters across the country have also been established to help these strays.
Here are two cat sanctuaries in Penang and Pahang that you can visit, or adopt cats from.
Life by the sea
Located in Penang’s Teluk Bahang, about 20km from the capital George Town, Cat Beach Sanctuary was established in 2014 by cat lovers Teviot Fairservis and Nana Wanchik.
The growing population of stray animals in Malaysia led to the opening of Cat Beach Sanctuary, a “no-kill, non-profit, cats only” centre.
“A Zero Stray policy was implemented in 2014, and we feared that the street cats (and dogs) would just be ‘swept’ off the streets and worse, killed. Hence, we wanted to provide a safe space for the rescued felines through Cat Beach, showing people that there are humane ways of handling these animals,” said Fairservis, who is a former English teacher from New York.
Teluk Bahang is a fishing village, making it a wonderful place for cats, as it’s isolated “from the rest of the world”. Folks here are fond of cats, too, she shared.
Fairservis has been running Cat Beach Sanctuary with Nana for a decade. — Teviot Fairservis
The shelter, featuring a two-storey wooden bungalow by the beach, has become a popular tourist attraction. One of the things she notices visitors enjoy doing here is creating content with the cats. “Cats are trendy, they are everywhere on the Internet now,” she said.
A few years ago, a couple from the United States made a video of the sanctuary, garnering over 300,000 views on social media. “The clip gained so much attention that holidaymakers from various parts of the world started dropping by during their visit to Penang,” she added.
Some of the previous visitors were from Argentina, Zanzibar and Japan. Fairservis said that some of them would even stay at the shelter for a bit to help out.
This special place is not just for hanging out with cats, it’s also a place to learn about cat care. “Our furry companions are delighted to have visitors. The idea of people finding joy in cats brings me sheer happiness,” said Fairservis.
However, it saddens her to see there are still many stray cats around. “We’ve encountered many cats with amputations because they were hit by cars or scalded by hot water,” Fairservis said, adding that cats in need of medical treatment will be sent to the nearby veterinary clinic, which is a 40-minute drive from Cat Beach.
While the sanctuary does not have its own vet, the team is working towards opening a clinic in the future. “As the centre doesn’t provide vet services, we highly encourage rescuers to send the cats to a vet before dropping them off here,” she said.
Aside from housing rescues, the sanctuary also rehomes cats. “Over 25 cats have been adopted in the last seven months, this makes room for more cats.”
Visitors are welcome to help out at the sanctuary. From cleaning the beach and making sure animal waste doesn’t end up in the sea to preparing food and entertaining the felines, there are a variety of things that need to be done here.
To find out more, check out their Instagram page (@catbeachsanctuary).
Children volunteer at Cat Beach to make toys for cats. — Cat Beach Sanctuary/Instagram
A new home
There are nearly 100 cats roaming freely at Meow Island in Pekan, Pahang. The shelter was opened in 2013 to house homeless felines. But its founder, the late Tengku Lokman, had already begun his rescue endeavour years before that.
“Lokman loved animals. He would bring home stray cats from a market near our house every week. Due to the increasing number of cats brought in, we had to search for a new, bigger location to shelter them,” said Tengku Azizan, Lokman’s sister.
The siblings started scouring nearby places that they could rent or buy, before coming across a remote island village called Kampung Pulau Keladi.
“It was during a boat ride that Lokman saw egrets – the long-legged, wading birds – gathered on the trees of a river island. The peace and quiet of the area instantly captured his heart,” Tengku Azizan recalled.
The shelter, Pertubuhan Perlindungan Kucing Dato Shamsiah Pekan Meow Island, is registered and named after their mother, who passed on a few years ago.
Tengku Azizan and her sister, Tengku Azizam are taking care of the cats at Meow Island. — Facebook
It is now managed by Tengku Azizan and her sister, Tengku Azizam.
Taking on their brother’s mantle, the sisters dedicate their time and energy in providing the cats with the best possible care. According to them, today, more than 50 cats from the island have found “a new home, a new life”.
Meow Island is more than just a shelter, though, as it’s also a tourist attraction. “Besides local folks, we’ve also seen visitors from the US, France and Spain coming here. They enjoy playing with the adorable furry cats,” said Tengku Azizan.
She said that there are wooden huts in the compound built by the volunteers for the cats. “Tourists especially love spending time and taking photos with our ‘residents’ here. The cats also enjoy the company of children.”
Other animals residing at the shelter are goats, ducks and chicken.
Meow Island, Tengku Azizan said, welcomes donations from the public. “We have to fork out about RM7,000 every month to sustain the place,” she revealed.
Since its existence, many companies have included the shelter in their CSR programmes.
For more information on Meow Island, visit its Facebook page (Pertubuhan Perlindungan Kucing Dato Shamsiah Pekan – Meow Island).
Meow Island has over 90 feline residents. — Visit Pahang
