About 7,000 cats licensed in last-minute rush to get them registered for free
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Cat owners had been given two years from Sept 1, 2024, to microchip and license their pets under the Cat Management Framework.
PHOTO: ST FILE
- Thousands of cat owners rushed to register their cats before the free licensing period ended on Aug 31, causing long waits and some missing the deadline.
- After Aug 31, cat licences cost $15 for sterilised cats and $90 for unsterilised cats, with new limits of two cats in HDB flats from Sept 1.
- From Sept 1, all pet cats must be microchipped and licensed by law, with fines up to $5,000 for unlicensed cats under the Animals and Birds Act.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – About 7,000 cats were licensed from Aug 31 to 3am on Sept 1 as owners rushed at the 11th hour to register their pets for free under the Cat Management Framework.
This scramble took place despite Minister of State for National Development and Foreign Affairs Alvin Tan urging owners who had yet to register their pets to do so quickly earlier on Aug 31 and during an event on July 18.
Cat owners had been given two years from Sept 1, 2024, to microchip and license their pets under this framework.
Some pet owners lamented online about the long wait time on Aug 31 on the Animal and Veterinary Service’s (AVS) licence application portal as the clock ticked closer to midnight.
In a media reply, AVS group director Anna Wong said AVS had put in place a virtual queue system from 8pm on Aug 31 to manage traffic on the platform, “in anticipation of a surge in licensing applications during the last phase of the transition period”.
“At its peak, there were close to 3,000 applicants in the virtual waiting room at around 11pm,” she added. “To allow all cat owners who joined the virtual queue to complete licensing their pet cats, AVS extended the timeline from midnight until 3am, Sept 1.”
To cater for the deadline extension, there was a system refresh from midnight to 12.30am on Sept 1, according to Wong.
In a Reddit post, one cat owner posted a screenshot of a virtual waiting room which showed that the expected time to enter the licensing portal was more than an hour. It also showed that there were 2,940 people ahead of the owner.
The owner said: “Seeing this, and I have 15 minutes before 12 midnight.”
The post has since garnered close to 400 upvotes and over 50 comments, with a few sharing the original poster’s sentiments.
“Same here, been trying since 8pm and the website kept crashing when my turn was near. Gave up, will pay the fee to register,” one netizen wrote.
Taking into account the last-minute rush, there are currently more than 129,000 licensed pet cats, with about 93 per cent of them sterilised, AVS’ Wong said.
“It is encouraging to note that the number of licensed pet cats has increased significantly over the past two months, with about 15,000 pet cats licensed in July 2026 and more than 47,000 licensed in August 2026.”
The wait time on Animal & Veterinary Service’s portal was as long as one hour, with thousands of users in line.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM MAGICIANMOO/REDDIT
Licensing fees, which vary depending on the age of the animal, its reproductive status and the number of pets in a household, will apply to pet cat applications submitted from Sept 1.
The Cat Management Framework was introduced to enhance the traceability of pet cats. It strengthens AVS’ response to potential disease outbreaks, enhances owners’ accountability for the health and welfare of their pet cats, and helps identify and reunite lost cats with their owners, Wong said.
“Cat owners who have yet to do so should continue to come forward to license their pet cats,” she added.
