Stylish 'cat cottages' a labour of love for Chong Pang resident

She blends her love for animals and crafts to make nearly 100 shelters for strays

- Calista Wong

Whenever heavy rain lashes, a handful of stray cats in Yishun can stay cosy and safe from the deluge. But you will not find them in somebody's home at such times. Instead, they can be found in charming handcrafted shelters, dotted around parts of the estate.

The shelters or "cat cottages" are the handiwork of Chong Pang resident Janet Chin, 54.

For the last three years, she has been blending her love for animals with arts and crafts, by transforming scrap cardboard boxes into whimsical homes.

The idea, she said, came to her one rainy day, when she began thinking about how stray cats that lacked proper shelter often sought refuge in precarious locations, such as under parked cars, to escape the elements.

"That was when I started to think about building a cat house."

The first ones she made were crafted out of plain cardboard boxes covered with a dry towel—a set-up that she admits was "ugly".

She then set out to "beautify" the makeshift cottages, beginning with the addition of water-resistant wallpaper, taken from her personal stash of crafting materials—leftovers from a home decor project for her living room.

She sourced leftover cardboard from grocers and supermarkets or opted for recycled materials, including plastic containers used for cat treats.

Eventually, she cut out windows in the boxes and added planters as well as other features like chimneys, creating a miniature cottage.