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Owner of cat cafe under AVA investigation writes lengthy apology to public

SINGAPORE — Cuddles Cat Café owner Jonathan Tan today (Dec 17) publicly addressed the death of seven cats at his establishment and said he is looking for interested parties to do a business takeover.

Cuddles Cat Cafe at *Scape. TODAY file photo

Cuddles Cat Cafe at *Scape. TODAY file photo

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SINGAPORE — Cuddles Cat Café owner Jonathan Tan today (Dec 17) publicly addressed the death of seven cats at his establishment and said he is looking for interested parties to do a business takeover.

Mr Tan wrote a lengthy apology on Facebook, “seeking forgiveness from the public, and to express my upmost regret and remorse on the current situation”.

“Under my care, seven cats died in a one year time-period.... My inexperience resulted to these issues,” he admitted.

Mr Tan also addressed other allegations against his business like the health statuses of his 30 cats and the lack of proper training provided to his staff.

“I have been on a learning journey since the opening of the café, and I regretfully admit that there were lapses in the standards in the initial phase of the café,” he said.

He also admitted that some of his cats were sick with Ringworm and Irritable Bowel Syndrome and some ex-employees and other cats had contracted Ringworm as a result.

Although he said he would have liked for an opportunity to improve, “circumstances would not allow it”.

The 30-year-old called for interested parties to do a business takeover, with a wish to keep the remaining cats together as a family under a new owner instead of rehoming them. Mr Tan said he would screening prospective owners “very thoroughly”.

“As a closing note, Cuddles Cat Café hopes that the premises would continue to improve to provide the best possible loving environment for our cats to live and thrive in,” Mr Tan wrote.

Two other posts put up on the café’s Facebook page earlier were harshly rebutted by angry netizens. One commented that Mr Tan was “only interested in the dollars and cents,” more than the welfare of the cats, while others suggested that he should have adopted instead of buying cats for his café.

The café’s license to display animals expires today (Dec 17). Cuddles café’s animal exhibition licence will not be renewed as investigations are still ongoing. 

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