More support to be provided to cat owners in 2025 with over 30 free microchipping drives planned

- More support to be provided to cat owners in 2025 with over 30 free microchipping drives planned

Singapore, 8 February 2025 – The Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS), a cluster of the National Parks Board (NParks), rolled out the pet cat licensing scheme and programmes for pet and community cats under the Cat Management Framework on 1 September 2024. Since the start of the licensing scheme, over 24,000 pet cats have been licensed (as of 31 January 2025). Of these, about 97% of the cats are sterilised. About 24,000 people have completed the online pet ownership course, which is mandatory for first time cat licence applicants. 

Under the Cat Management Framework, cat owners must license their pet cats by 31 August 2026. AVS encourages cat owners to license their pet cats early for traceability and to safeguard animal health and welfare. As part of the cat-keeping rules, owners will need to ensure that their cats are kept in a safe environment and take reasonable steps to protect their cats from hazards, such as installing mesh or grilles to prevent the cats from roaming freely or falling from height. More information on the licensing process and requirements are available at https://go.gov.sg/cat-licensing. To facilitate the roll-out of the Cat Management Framework, AVS has launched several initiatives to provide support to cat owners and community cat caregivers.

AVS’ efforts to support the community 

Free microchipping drives 

It is mandatory for all pet cats to be microchipped for licensing purpose. Microchipping enhances traceability by providing each cat with a unique identification number for the identification and reunification of lost cats. It would also allow AVS to hold cat owners to greater account for keeping their cats responsibly. In 2024, AVS microchipped a total of 2,780 pet cats at 11 pet-related and animal welfare group events. This year, to meet the high demand for these free microchipping services, AVS will be rolling out over 30 microchipping drives.

These AVS microchipping drives will be held at schools, community centres, and veterinary clinics that have offered their support, as well as other community pet-related events, providing convenient access to cat owners in various neighbourhoods across Singapore. Community support has also been key for these drives, with volunteers stepping forward to help at the events. For instance, some private veterinarians have volunteered to conduct microchipping drives at their clinics. Additionally, students from the National University of Singapore Students' Union (NUSSU) Council will be involved in the microchipping drives at NUS in May 2025. The first two AVS microchipping drives this year were held at Toa Payoh Central Community Centre in January and Bukit Merah Secondary School in February. Upcoming microchipping drives will be conducted at locations including Bishan Community Centre, Singapore Expo, National University of Singapore, and Dunman High School. 

Members of the public can register for microchipping slots at https://go.gov.sg/avs-catmc. Registration slots for the month open at 12 pm on the first day of the preceding month (e.g. slots for April 2025 will open on at 12 pm on 1 March 2025).

AVS’ programmes under the Cat Management Framework 

Pet Cat Sterilisation Support (PCSS) programme

The PCSS programme was launched on 1 September 2024 to support lower-income households by providing free sterilisation and microchipping for their pet cats. The programme provides early intervention to stem the unintended breeding of pet cats from households that are unable to afford sterilisation. Since its launch, AVS has received over 950 applications. To date, over 200 pet cats have been sterilised and microchipped under the PCSS programme. This is in addition to over 270 pet cats that were sterilised and microchipped during the pilot Pet Cat Sterilisation Days conducted in November 2023, February 2024, and May 2024. AVS will continue to assess the submitted applications and arrange for eligible pet cats to be sterilised and microchipped in due course.

About 70 private veterinarians and veterinary nurses have volunteered for Pet Cat Sterilisation Days, which AVS organises in collaboration with the Cat Welfare Society, AVS’ lead partner, together with the Singapore Veterinary Association and Temasek Polytechnic. The public can find more information on the eligibility criteria and register for PCSS at https://go.gov.sg/avs-pcss. 

Trap-Neuter-Rehome/Release-Manage (TNRM) programme

Under the TNRM programme for community cats launched on 1 September 2024, AVS partners animal welfare groups, veterinarians, and community cat caregivers to manage the community cat population nation-wide. The animal welfare groups that are part of the programme include Cat Welfare Society, AVS’ lead partner, Causes for Animals (Singapore), LUNI Singapore, Noah’s Ark CARES, Purely Adopts, and SPCA. Veterinary clinics that are part of the programme include James Tan Veterinary Centre, Animal World Veterinary Clinic and Furiends Veterinary Clinic. 

Community support for the implementation of the Cat Management Framework

AVS encourages more stakeholders and the larger community to contribute towards the implementation of the Cat Management Framework. The framework will help safeguard public health and better protect the health and welfare of Singapore’s pet and community cats. AVS welcomes animal welfare groups, veterinary clinics, and interested groups to initiate their own microchipping and sterilisation drives or provide free/subsidised services for the public. More information on the framework can be found at https://go.gov.sg/cat-framework.

– End –