The members first hitchhiked their way into flood-affected areas and then clambered on and off boats, braving waist-deep waters to save their four-legged friends.
Club chairman Jurina Abdul Rani, 49, said among the 86 rescued cats were 26 strays housed at a member’s residence in Indera Sempurna here, which was also flooded in the early hours of last Sunday morning.
The remainder were rescued around Bukit Rangin here, and were mostly cats that had to be left behind by their owners when they were forced to evacuate quickly due to fast rising floods.
The owners subsequently reached out to SKJP for assistance.
“We try to save as many as we can, but we are also facing a shortage in manpower as many members are affected by the floods. We also lack suitable assets and had to borrow boats or hitchhike on trucks to enter the flooded areas.
“We also received assistance from the Veterinary Department, which provided four-wheel-drive vehicles to make it easier for us to bring out rescued cats, including strays, and house them at SKJP members’ homes,” she said today.
According to Jurinah, the cat rescue operation had to be conducted as fast as possible as they could not carry on after 7pm due to the lack of light, which was compounded by power outages in flooded areas.
They also lacked cages to carry the cats, but after their rescue operation became known, the club began receiving calls from cat owners elsewhere who offered to lend their cages.
Besides rescuing cats trapped in the floods, SKJP also patrolled the flooded areas to feed surviving cats by placing food in high areas.
Jurinah said cat owners were advised to open their cat’s cage and release the animal indoors, leaving food in higher areas as it would increase the cat’s chances of survival when water levels rose.
“But we understand that many of them were unable to do so due to fast rising floods … in Indera Sempurna, we found three drowned cats. We wept as we carried them out for burial,” she added.
Meanwhile, housewife Azrina Azhar’s sympathy towards the plight faced by pet cats led her to offer to tend to cats belonging to flood evacuees for free to help ease their burden.
The 29-year-old and her husband made a 25km trip from her house in Gambang Damai to Jaya Gading just to pick up the cats. They ended up fostering five cats within two days.
“Usually, owners would send their pets to cat hotels but this time, I think not many could do so because the flood hit so suddenly,” she said.
She expressed hope that her effort would help reduce cat deaths as she had read of flood victims returning home to find their pets dead or starving. Having two cats herself, she understood how painful such a situation would be.
“Some ask me how long I could foster the cats and I told them that I would do so till they were ready to be taken home. The owners have a lot of work to do after the floods recede. At least their furry family member is in good hands,” she said with a smile.