Canine-lover sustains cat shelters

Safe haven: Lim with some her rescues at Meowy Cat Shelter.

GEORGE TOWN: As an avid animal lover, Pauline Lim has always identified herself as more of a dog person.

Little did she know that she would end up running three cat shelters after her early retirement.

The 56-year-old, who has been running these shelters since 2014, said she believes each life counts and should be given a second chance.

“This was why I started Meowy Cat Shelter back in September 2014.

“The first was in Balik Pulau. With the help of volunteers and kind-hearted people, two more shelters were set up in Butterworth and George Town.

“The only difference is that we cater specifically for handicapped, injured and vulnerable cats and kittens.

“We look after helpless cats and kittens, those with special needs and those that cannot survive outside on their own,” she said in an interview.

Lim said they believe injured and disease-infected cats deserve a chance at life.

“Some may think that if a cat is seriously injured or disease-plagued, it is justified to put it to sleep.

“To me, I cannot bring myself to make that decision. I cannot knowingly choose to put them to sleep. Their lives do not belong to me.

“What we do is we help treat, care for and rehabilitate these cats. For those with special needs, we try to help them recover. We try to aid them with physiotherapy so that they can move and walk,” she said.

Lim, who is a former project manager at a moulding company in Shah Alam, said she took up early retirement 10 years ago and did not expect to end up running a cat shelter, much less a shelter for vulnerable ones.

“As someone with more fondness for dogs in the past, I have learnt to love cats and grow a sort of fondness for them now,’’ she added.

Lim shared that her idea to start a shelter for vulnerable cats began when she came across a seriously injured cat on the road.

“At that time, I wanted to find a suitable place for it but my attempts were unsuccessful.

“I then realised that it is hard to find a place for injured, handicapped or special needs cats as most shelters take in only the able-bodied ones.

“As such, I decided to start a shelter which focuses specifically on injured, disease-infected and vulnerable cats,’’ she said.

Lim said as most cats live up to a decade or more, vulnerable cats need care as they would have difficulty surviving if left on their own.

“At present, we have some 200-odd cats. Times are tough now as we are unable to sell items at malls or organise events to raise funds.

“Each month, we spend over RM2,000 at each of our shelters to pay for expenses and this does not include food, medical bills and other utilities.

“As such, we hope the public will be considerate and not abandon their sick pets,” she said.