This might be hard to believe, but some people actually want cats in their house.
Oh dear god, not that kind of cat. This kind.
Unfortunately, if you’re living in an HDB flat and you have a cat, you’re technically breaking the law.
Reader: Well, I like to walk on the wild side sometimes.
Cats have been banned from HDB for the past 30 years and the question everybody has is:
Well, things might soon change, because an MP raised up this issue in parliament.
Nee Soon MP Says It Doesn’t Make Sense For HDB To Ban Cats
Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng has come out and said that “it does not make sense” that someone who lives in a condominium is allowed to keep a pet cat, while those residing in HDB flats are not.
Speaking at the Committee of Supply debates on 4 Mar, Ng said that HDB’s concerns about cats being difficult to contain should apply to those living in condominiums as well.
In case you don’t know, here are some of HDB’s concerns:
- that they are difficult to contain within the flat;
- they tend to shed fur and defecate or urinate in public areas;
- and that they make caterwauling sounds, which can inconvenience neighbours
Now, I don’t live in a condominium, but I’m certain that cats who live in condominiums make caterwauling sounds too, unless they’ve read HDB’s list of concerns and are especially considerate.
As Ng reasoned, some condos units are even smaller than HDB flats.
“It also doesn’t make sense that one is allowed to keep a dog, and now a big dog, but not a cat. Not even a little kitten”, he said.
HDB Concerns Can Be Taken Care Of Easily
Ng, who is also the founder of Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES), said that he has seen “firsthand” how “simple measures” can be taken to keep cats from inconveniencing neighbours.
For one, as long as the cat is sterilised, it will not make caterwauling sounds, Ng said.
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Ng then asked if the Ministry of National Development (MND) will consider officially allowing HDB residents to keep cats.
In response, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for MND Sun Xueling said that they are continuing to have conversations around “how to best strike a balance between residents who are pet lovers and those who are not”.
Sun added that HDB will also work with NParks to take a “holistic and balanced approach” in reviewing and updating its pet ownership policies.
Chong Pang Cat Project
You may not know this, but HDB residents in Chong Pang have been able to keep their little felines in their apartments since 2012.
Project Love Cats sounds like a jazz band from the 70s, but it was actually a pilot scheme introduced in Oct 2012 to “monitor and assess the impact” of allowing cats in HDB flats.
Under the Love Cats programme, residents must register, sterilise, and microchip their pets, and restrict them from roaming outdoors.
Back in 2017, Ng commented on the programme, saying the pilot had been successful and could be rolled out to more areas.
Additionally, Chong Pang residents and shopkeepers said they have not had many cat-related nuisances in the area.
It is unclear if the programme is still running, but one thing is for sure: if a condominium resident can keep a cat, then it really doesn’t make sense that an HDB resident can’t.
And let’s face it, it’s not like Ng wants to introduce a new law that’ll allow primate lovers to keep chimpanzees in their flats; many of our HDB neighbours already keep cats, and it really isn’t a nuisance at all.
Except for the whole ‘living with a cat’ thing, of course.
