Stylish queen with a love for animals

Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin and Dr Norely have been animal lovers since they were children.

SELANGOR’S stylish and elegant Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin has a soft spot for animals and has rescued many stray cats over the years. According to her sister Datin Dr Norely Abd Rahman, Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin’s love affair with cats started when she was about five years old.

“We moved from Melaka to Kampung Baru (in Kuala Lumpur) when our father retired from the armed forces. There was a female cat in our new house that delivered four kittens. That was when we first started having cats,” recalled Dr Norely, an active rescuer who has also helped countless cats over the years.

Dr Norely reckons that Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, who is the royal patron of SPCA Selangor’s Stray Free Campaign, followed in her footsteps in rescuing stray cats.

“Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin has been very active in cat rescue work for the last five years and has saved about 16 cats from markets and off the streets,” said Dr Norely.

She said she and Tengku Permai­suri Norashikin carry pet food in their cars to feed stray animals.

Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin and Zila attending a cat show.

“Since we cannot provide them a home, the least we can do is give them a good meal,” Dr Norely said.

Currently, Selangor Ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and Tengku Permai­suri Norashikin have a cat-feeding pavilion, which was designed by the Ruler himself, at their private residence for stray cats in the area.

“They have also neutered all the cats in the area which come to the dining pavilion for their meals,” said Dr Norely.

Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin’s friend Datin Zila Abdul Malek said the former gets upset when she sees homeless cats.

“Before she became the Tengku Permaisuri of Selangor, she used to get upset whenever we went to food stalls and saw stray cats roaming aimlessly there,” recalled Zila.

She said Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin would ask the stall owners if the cats had been fed and explain to them how they could get the animals neutered.

Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin also does not like buying pets as she strongly believes in adopting rescued animals, added Zila.