Petknode apologises for cat hell

By Mohamed Hosni Ibrahim

September 06, 2011

A volunteer attends to a cat rescued from Petknode yesterday. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 — The owners of the Petknode animal boarding centre have apologised for the condition of the 150 cats left starving, dehydrated and covered in their own waste at the “pet hotel” over the Hari Raya holidays.

In an apparent about-turn, the centre’s owners also thanked animal rescuers for fostering 26 cats and a dog that the operators admitted they were unable to care for.

In two postings on Petknode’s Facebook page today, Shahrul Azuwan Adanan and Yushairi Khairuddin expressed guilt and remorse over their inability to provide adequate care and service as promised, due to their own mismanagement of the animal boarding centre.

The posts came just a day after volunteers, who broke into Petknode’s Damansara Damai premises on Sunday, said that they had received threats from the duo, warning that they would be sued for trespassing.

However, users of the social media platform have called for Petknode to reveal where other cats are allegedly still being held.

The owners had expressed their “sincere guilt and remorse due to their inability to provide the adequate service as promised.”

“We admit our mistake in managing the animal boarding centre leading to the sufferings of the cats at the centre,” the postings also read on Petknode’s Facebook wall.

It had been reported earlier that Petknode had offered RM3.95 per night for the boarding of animals at their centre during the extended holiday period.

Upon returning, owners had called in on Petknode requesting to collect their pets; however, no adequate response was received, which led to volunteers staging a rescue operation at the centre itself.

Animal lovers on Facebook have so far refused to accept the apology and lashed out at Shahrul and Yushairi for their greed.

“Just tell the truth and admit what happened and please, tell the owners who can’t find their cats, where they are kept,” said a user named Hanniz Efni, in reference to claims that 100 cats boarded at Petknode are still missing.

During an emotional press conference yesterday, animal welfare activists and owners of the 150 emaciated cats called for the duo to be jailed, fined and sued.

Some plan to gather at the police headquarters in Bukit Aman to hand over a memorandum to the Inspector General of Police calling for further action to be taken against Shahrul and Yushairi.