SINGAPORE - From braving traffic to rescue cats stranded in the middle of hectic highways to testifying against a now-convicted animal abuser, six local "cat heroes" were given $100 hampers from the Cat Welfare Society (CWS) on Monday (June 26) for their contributions in fighting cat abuse in Singapore.

The feline champions includes Ms Janet Sum, founder of Facebook page "Yishun 326 Tabby Cat".

Ms Sum found a cat wrapped in masking tape in Ubi earlier this year.

Another recipient - Ms Fiona Ho - helped rehabilitate a cat found in Jalan Minyak with a cable tie around its testicles in July last year.

Taxi driver Mohamed Eliyas took home a hamper for braving traffic several times this year to help abandoned cats on the highway.

The 42-year-old rescued three cats stranded on the road in February, April and May.

CWS spokesman Veron Lau told The Straits Times that the movement was the first of its kind, and will be carried out again once every six months.

CWS workers on Monday visited the homes of the six heroes and presented them with $100 Pet Lovers Centre gift hampers sponsored by the pet supplies retailer.

The other winners include a domestic helper who sounded an alert after discovering a cat locked in a Pasir Ris HDB dry riser, a woman who saved more than 20 cats in a hoarder's home, and a mother and daughter pair who helped nab a man who threw a cat down from a Tampines HDB block last year and testified against him.

"I'm happy because at least there's some recognition," says Mr Eliyas. "But what's more important for me is that this helps to highlight cases of cats."