 My letter~  Tuesday, January 16, 2007
I wrote a letter to ST forum....
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My friend who lives in a terrace just adopted a cat. It makes me envy him that his cat is ‘legalized’ while my poor cat is an ‘illegal occupant’ as I live in a HDB Flat. My cat has been with me for years, and has yet to cause any nuisance that is enough to drive any neighbours pounding on our doors. I did an online search and to my surprise found these 2 statuary boards' stand on cats as pets.
“Brochure from AVA (April 2001) – Cats Make Good Indoor pets
Cats are not allowed to be kept in HDB flats as they are nomadic in nature and are difficult to be confined within the flats. Due to the nomadic nature of cats, the nuisances caused by cats such as shedding of fur, defecating/urinating in public areas, noise disturbance etc would affect the environment and neighbourliness in our housing estates. In view of this, HDB has the policy of not allowing cats to be kept in HDB flats.
- HDB (24 Aug 2006)”
My cat personally has no problem in living in my HDB flat for these years and has never made attempts to run away from home. Thus, I do not understand how “cats are nomadic in nature and difficult to be confined within the flats”.
I also do wonder, does a cat shed less fur than it does within a HDB flat than in a landed property? Then why is this raised as a justification for banning cats in HDB flats? Since there is no difference in the amount of fur shed, and responsible owners do take time to brush cats as much as they do for dogs, to remove dead hair, there should be no issue on the shedding of fur. The shedding of fur is within the flat of owners, any discomfort caused is only to the owners as well, as it would to cat owners living in landed properties, not to the entire neighbourhood.
And definitely, most owners would have had their cats sterilized and the cats would not be caterwauling (making mating noises). In view of this, the frequent barking of dogs would definitely be louder than any alleged noise disturbance that the meowing of sterilized cats would make—then why are cats banned and dogs allowed?
The brochure on how to be a good owner by AVA recommends that ‘the indoor cat is better protected’ and I believe that most owners prefer it this way too. Shedding of fur within the flats of owners is not an issue anymore; The problem of cats urinating around neighbourhood too.
If cats are to be penalised for urinating, I do believe that the issue is not a problem with it being a cat or a dog, but on the responsibility, or rather the lack of responsibility of the owner. An irresponsible owner of a dog can and will defecate/urinate in public places as much as an irresponsible cat owner.
I feel that the HDB’s banning of cats is too harsh on responsible cats owners like myself.
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My letter~ Tuesday, January 16, 2007
I wrote a letter to ST forum....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My friend who lives in a terrace just adopted a cat. It makes me envy him that his cat is ‘legalized’ while my poor cat is an ‘illegal occupant’ as I live in a HDB Flat. My cat has been with me for years, and has yet to cause any nuisance that is enough to drive any neighbours pounding on our doors. I did an online search and to my surprise found these 2 statuary boards' stand on cats as pets.
“Brochure from AVA (April 2001) – Cats Make Good Indoor pets
Cats are not allowed to be kept in HDB flats as they are nomadic in nature and are difficult to be confined within the flats. Due to the nomadic nature of cats, the nuisances caused by cats such as shedding of fur, defecating/urinating in public areas, noise disturbance etc would affect the environment and neighbourliness in our housing estates. In view of this, HDB has the policy of not allowing cats to be kept in HDB flats.
- HDB (24 Aug 2006)”
My cat personally has no problem in living in my HDB flat for these years and has never made attempts to run away from home. Thus, I do not understand how “cats are nomadic in nature and difficult to be confined within the flats”.
I also do wonder, does a cat shed less fur than it does within a HDB flat than in a landed property? Then why is this raised as a justification for banning cats in HDB flats? Since there is no difference in the amount of fur shed, and responsible owners do take time to brush cats as much as they do for dogs, to remove dead hair, there should be no issue on the shedding of fur. The shedding of fur is within the flat of owners, any discomfort caused is only to the owners as well, as it would to cat owners living in landed properties, not to the entire neighbourhood.
And definitely, most owners would have had their cats sterilized and the cats would not be caterwauling (making mating noises). In view of this, the frequent barking of dogs would definitely be louder than any alleged noise disturbance that the meowing of sterilized cats would make—then why are cats banned and dogs allowed?
The brochure on how to be a good owner by AVA recommends that ‘the indoor cat is better protected’ and I believe that most owners prefer it this way too. Shedding of fur within the flats of owners is not an issue anymore; The problem of cats urinating around neighbourhood too.
If cats are to be penalised for urinating, I do believe that the issue is not a problem with it being a cat or a dog, but on the responsibility, or rather the lack of responsibility of the owner. An irresponsible owner of a dog can and will defecate/urinate in public places as much as an irresponsible cat owner.
I feel that the HDB’s banning of cats is too harsh on responsible cats owners like myself.
3:02 AM | back to top
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