PASIR MAS: A man swam through floodwaters for 300 metres (m), with water levels exceeding one metre, to ensure that 400 cats trapped at a shelter in Tok Uban were safe and had food.
Rumah Perlindungan Kucing founder Khairul Nizam Mohd Arifin said water levels at the shelter, home to 400 stray and abandoned cats, began rising on Tuesday.
Khairul Nizam added that the worsening flood situation forced him to move 200 cats to the shelter's ceiling while relocating the rest to an abandoned building next door, as floodwaters in the area rose rapidly to a height of 0.7 metres.
"Since the water began rising, I have been going there daily. Since we didn't have a boat, I had to swim 300 meters to feed the cats and return home in the evening.
"After three days, yesterday, a kind individual provided me with a boat to use to reach the cat shelter," he said when contacted.
He said while the water level was still high, it was gradually decreasing.
Khairul Nizam said that while he is confident all the cats, including those in the ceiling, are safe, he is concerned that the food supply will only last for four more days, as some of it was damaged by the flood.
"To ensure the cats' safety, I also opened the roof slightly to allow them to escape if the water level continued to rise.
"Every day, I travel 20km from my home in Kampung Gaung to the cat shelter to ensure that all the cats are safe," he said.
He said that the cat shelter is operated by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) and the cats have been housed there since February.
"All the cats are strays rescued from garbage dumps and markets. We welcome any individuals or organisations that would like to donate cat food," he said.