Syafiq Suhaime just wanted to fish. Instead, he came across a floating structure in Pulau Ketam, Klang, so deteriorated and covered in barnacles that it appeared to have been abandoned for months. There he found starving cats, some so weak that they would not even eat or drink water.
He wanted to help them, but he was alone in an inflatable boat, and getting closer was risky: one of the cats, desperate, bit his hand. He recorded everything and uploaded it to TikTok without imagining what would happen next.
The video went viral and mobilized dozens of volunteers to the island. Ten cats have already been rescued and are receiving care, although several did not make it and several more remain trapped, too frightened to let themselves be caught. The survivors need urgent treatment, estimated at between 1.300 and 1.500 dollars. No one yet knows who abandoned them there.