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SINGAPORE: The National Parks Board (NParks) has removed several pet cats from a flat in Bedok after it received feedback about allegations of neglect, it said on Friday (Dec 20).

NParks was alerted to the case in a unit at 147 Bedok Reservoir Road and is looking into the matter, said Ms Jessica Kwok, its group director of enforcement and investigation.

In response to Â鶹´«Ã½'s queries, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said its team arrived at the location on Wednesday at around 9.50am after being alerted to concerns about high rise syndrome, which is when an animal suffers injuries due to having fallen from a height.

Some cats were observed to have fallen from the window of a housing unit, and as there were more cats seen at the same window ledge, a rescue officer set up a safety net beneath the window to mitigate any further falls, said Ms Aarthi Sankar, SPCA's executive director.

She added that the AVS officers from NParks gained access to the unit at about 2pm.

"The unit looked to be severely derelict. More cats were found, all in poor condition, and the surviving ones were rescued. One of the cats is undergoing treatment at the SPCA, with the rest being conveyed to the AVS."

A Facebook user by the name Reyn Teng had posted about the case in the Sayang Our Singapore's Community Cats group on Thursday, saying she had noticed several injured and dead cats appearing in the same area over several days since Monday.

On Wednesday, she witnessed a cat fall from a height at the block, and when she looked up, she saw two cats at the window ledge of one of the units. She then contacted NParks, SPCA and the police.

She added that the NParks officer had gotten a locksmith to open the door of the unit. "When we opened the door, it was shocking to see there were cats, rubbish, poo and pee everywhere," she wrote.

"I would like to thank the team from SPCA and NParks for doing their very best to get the cats out of the house. The condition inside the house was very bad, the smell was horrible. They couldn’t open the door or windows so they had to endure the smell and catch those cats in darkness," she added.

The unit had housed a total of 19 cats, with 12 rescued from the unit, she wrote.

"NParks takes all cases related to animal welfare seriously and investigates all feedback received. We will take action against anyone who has abandoned their pet, failed to provide adequate care for it, or has committed an act of animal cruelty and abuse," said Ms Kwok.

Members of the public can play their part by promptly reporting suspected cases of animal cruelty or injuries to NParks, she added.

"As with all investigations, all forms of evidence are critical to the process, and photographic and/or video-graphic evidence provided by the public will help."