SINGAPORE: Approved cat fosterers will be allowed to license and keep up to six cats in three-room or larger HDB sold flats and up to 10 cats in private premises from Aug 3, as part of a pilot scheme announced by the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS).

The two-year scheme will run until Jul 31, 2028.

The pilot comes after AVS had consulted various stakeholders and considered the views of different segments of the population, with input from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) for cat-owning households residing in public housing, AVS said in a media release on Saturday (Jul 18).

"AVS recognises that fosterers play an important role in cat management by providing safe homes for cats in need," the authority said. 

"Fosterers help reduce the number of free-roaming cats in the community and the potential disamenities that they could cause."

The new limits include all pet and foster cats in each household, according to the authority. For example, an approved fosterer who has two existing pet cats will be allowed to license and keep up to four foster cats if they live in an HDB flat and up to eight foster cats if they live in private premises.

Approved cat fosterers must also sterilise all cats in their household. This prevents unintended breeding, which can lead to overpopulation and compromise the welfare of the cats in their care, said AVS.

Additionally, AVS said it will waive licensing fees for cats fostered by approved fosterers during the two-year pilot period. 

Following the pilot, agencies will assess whether it meets the needs of fosterers and gather feedback from the wider community. The findings from the pilot will inform the longer-term approach for fosterer recognition, including the limits for cat fosterers, said AVS.

Interested applicants may apply to be approved fosterer via an online form on the AVS website from Aug 3. 

AVS said it had gathered input since 2023 on how to better support fosterers under the Cat Management Framework, which was rolled out on Sept 1, 2024. 

These included responses to public surveys - respondents included fosterers, residents, cat owners, and non-cat owners to ensure that diverse perspectives - and discussions with partners from the Trap-Neuter-Rehome/Release-Manage programme. 

The authority also said it conducted a survey of f...