# Once again reminded that keeping cats is illegal.



## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

Sigh...with so much news about cat ownership in Sg public housing flats recently, I am once again reminded that ET is now kept indoor illegally. Though many still keep cats in public housing flats, so long as no one complain, these cats are safe, but the moment the authority receive complaints, these cats will have to go. I know the Cat Welfare Society in Sg is working very hard trying to change that and a "Cat Ownership Pilot" programme has just kicked off in one of the estates.

The reason for disallowing cats are "*flat owners are not allowed to keep cats in HDB flats, as it is generally difficult to confine cats within the flat premises. Nuisance caused by cats such as shedding of their fur, defecating/urinating in public areas or even the caterwauling sounds that they make can cause a lot of disturbance, which affects the environment and disrupts neighbourliness in our housing estates*."

My next door neighbours and the neighbour above me knew about ET, but not the neighbour below our unit. I had been keeping away toys that will make loud noise, so as not to disturb my neighbour below us and thus inviting complaint, cos ET used to play from 3am. 

But the fact that cats are difficult to confine indoor may not necessarily be the case for all, at least not for ET. ET being extremely timid and had such hard life as a stray before is certainly very happy to be a 100% indoor cat, that, I can vouch. It will be even harder now if ET goes back to the streets again. Thank goodness, ET doesn't get up to play at 3am and is hardly vocal in the middle of the night, of late.

In your case, is it really that difficult to confine your cats indoor? Though I have read some cases where their cats loved the outdoor.


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## 3furbabies (Dec 7, 2011)

I'm not sure i understand. Are you saying where you live it's illegal to own a cat or a cat in an apartment?

Not where I live. I use to live in an apartment with three cats and a dog. The landlord knew about it and loved them all. The city I live in now has a 4 pet limit by law but I know people who own 6+ .


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## Nan (Oct 11, 2010)

Both my cats are indoors. I do have a patio door where the cats like to look outside, but they have never expressed interest in going out.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

I searched for Sg. Are you in Singapore? If that's yes, people may understand better. Tell ET to keep his head down and not get seen. I hope all goes well for you.

I keep Missy indoors. She'd love to go out, but it would make things difficult for me. It's not too hard to keep her in because she's a good cat.


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## maggie23 (Mar 10, 2012)

there are tons of indoor only kitties in the U.S. at least,so hopefully with ET being timid and knowing already what a hard life it was outside, he will continue to be content and even happy to stay indoor-only for you now. good luck!


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## CJinCA (Dec 5, 2011)

My kitties are indoor only. We live on a busy street and I wouldn't want them going outside where they don't know to watch for cars. We have a big enough townhome with plenty of room and stairs for them to run around. They both vocalize some, usually when they want to play or when they find they've been left behind on a floor and everyone else has gone upstairs or downstairs, etc. Mine have shown curiosity about the outdoors, but make no attempts to go out the door. Squeek went out the front door once, I think she thought it was going to be a new room to explore. when she realized she was outside, she sprinted back into the house, thank goodness!

Before I got them, they were in a foster home where they were confined to a single room for a year. Not the best situation, but better than the shelter where they were to be euthanized.

I think some of these rules/laws about cats are based on uninformed opinions or the behaviors of stray cats or cats with irresponsible owners who don't neuter/spay or otherwise care for them. If a cat is neutered, and has a home and a litterbox, they're not going to go around spraying everywhere.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

CJinCA said:


> If a cat is neutered, and has a home and a litterbox, they're not going to go around spraying everywhere.


I wish this were the case. It is not. Countless cats have behaviour issues related to spraying, not all are easy to diagnose a cause (such as it's because they're declawed/not neutered/UTI/multi-cat home not working out)... my cat is one of those examples, and I know a good portion of cats surrendered to the cat sanctuary for this reason as well. It can also become a learned behaviour from another cat, if you get one doing it, they may all start. A disaster scenario.

I don't know what SG is, but there are apartments that are no pet in Canada, many of these people still have cats, including my mother, as long as the cat is behaved no one cares. I would not worry too much, there are likely many others where you live with cats as well.


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

I was wondering what SG meant. Here we have landlords who won't allow pets (and some who will). Thankfully, I ahve my own house so it doesn't enter into it! My nearest neighbour rents and they are happy with her having a dog but it is down to the landlord. Council owned housing here allows pet ownershiop as long as you don't reach the hoarder stage.


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## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

Hi gals/guys, thanks for all your input.



jusjim said:


> I searched for Sg. Are you in Singapore? If that's yes, people may understand better. Tell ET to keep his head down and not get seen. I hope all goes well for you.


Sorry for the short form, yes I am in Singapore. Ya, I am pretty quiet about having a cat at home, but I do let my next door neighbours know cos we have good relationships and ET doesn't leave the house at all and won't be a nuisance to them. My concern is my neighbour below us,I don't know them well, just that they work odd hours cos they are hawkers, cross finger.

Some time ago, an acquintance I got to know while feeding the strays told me about her case. Her cat is also 100% indoor, but she will usually leave her main gate open and leave kitty leashed at the gate, just so her kitty can have a view of the outside w/o the chance to run away. However, one of her neighbours didn't like cats, complained to the Town Council. TC officer came, in a bid to take away her cat, however, somehow kitty knew, before TC officer came, he went into hiding. When the officer came unannounced, checked the house, he wasn't able to find kitty. The officer even knew kitty's name, called his name, but kitty just didn't come out, so TC officer left w/o kitty but warned owner that cats are not allowed. From then on, owner never left her main gate open. This is the problem cat owners in Sg faced, just 1 single unreasonable complaint from a cat hater, is enough to jeopardise kitty's safety.


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## OliverandCo. (Jul 20, 2012)

I lived in no-pet places before. ALWAYS had pets. There are precautions to take, obviously.. And try not to T-O off the neighbors!! lol But with this apartment I told my landlord front up that I have a bunny and I planned on getting a cat. He was okay with that.. The only damage done to the place is from the chairs on the floors.. And Oliver scratched the wall by our bedroom (before I put tape there) and the walls climbing into the windows. I know my damage deposit is gone but pet companionship is worth every penny to me. 
As for keeping pets in, there are some accidents. Wind commonly opens doors around here (the winds are generally pretty high here) and guests or workmen. My last house we rented to a student and he would never remind his friends to close the doors. Cats got out more than once. 
I think honesty is the best policy. It lowers the chance later of getting in trouble and having to re-home your pet. I would pay an extra rent fare to keep pets. (but don't tell my landlord that!! lol)


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I'm confused...is it against the law to have a cat in all of Singapore or just the housing where you live? I assume it's the latter and whether their reasons are valid or not...that's the rule of living there and you accept that when you choose to live there. There are plenty of places in the US, Canada, the UK etc. that have the same rules. I'm not sure what the issue is here other than that you chose to break the rule and are now worried about getting caught. Maybe you should be looking for a new place to live...


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

Wow, it must be rough in Singapore. I just looked into the housing. Wikipedia says 80% of people like in HDB housing, and here's the type of pets allowed:

HDB InfoWEB: Types of Pets Allowed : Living in HDB flats : Keeping Pets

I also found this, however: Pilot trial for cats, stray dogs to be kept in HDB homes - Yahoo! News Singapore

Have you looked into this, Snowy? The beginning of the article talks about trials with cats. The rest sounds pretty appalling.

And look at this, these are the dog breeds allowed: HDB InfoWEB: Breeds of Dogs Allowed : Living in HDB flats : Keeping Pets

How on earth do you prove your dog is one of these breeds?! Do they all need papers?

I'm really shocked and confused on the situation in Singapore.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

Carmel said:


> Wow, it must be rough in Singapore. I just looked into the housing. Wikipedia says 80% of people like in HDB housing, and here's the type of pets allowed:
> 
> HDB InfoWEB: Types of Pets Allowed : Living in HDB flats : Keeping Pets
> 
> ...


 
I think this kind of rule is made to catch the irresponsible type of pet keeper. I suspect that the cat noise problem refers to cats in heat. To my mind, and I love dogs, there's nothing quite as irritating as a yappy little terrier when you're trying to read or think.


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## builder (Sep 2, 2012)

Sorry to hear about your predicament Snowy. 

I’m pretty sure I’m in violation by having 5 cats and 2 dogs. I know there is an ordnance of how many pets you can have and I don’t know what that is so I just try to keep it quiet, but its hard when they are sitting in the window. 

One day I nearly panicked when animal control came to my door to collect fees and check licenses, but it just happened that my grandson was visiting and all the cats were hiding under the bed. 

Cats also have to be licensed here and one year Animal control came by and saw a large bag of cat food that I set on my step to unlock the door and forgot about it, so I had to buy a license for at least one cat :-(


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## 3furbabies (Dec 7, 2011)

What??? Animal control comes by to check licenses? Oh dear. None of my cats are license and luckily it's not mandatory where I live. I just found out the other day where I live the pet limit is 4 pets but I know people who have more. I think it's to prevent hoarding. I have 4 animals now and if I wanted more it wouldn't stop me.


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## Penguin_Dreams (Sep 28, 2012)

While I'm unfamiliar with particular pet laws in Singapore in general, I don't find it one bit hard to believe there are some very specific and restrictive laws regarding pets, housing and about a thousand other things like how long your hair can be and if you can chew gum in public. No, I'm not kidding. Anyone remember that American tourist who got canned over there for a little bit of graffiti? He was lucky to get his sentence reduced from 6 to 3 because of international pressure. There is a heavier emphasis on community and conformity there than what most of us are used to.

Singapore has a completely different culture than what we're used to here in the Americas or Western Europe. There are many advantages to this and from what I hear from friends who have lived there, it's beautiful and organized and runs like a well-oiled machine. But at the same time, those of us who are not from a similar culture find it a bit unfathomable at times.


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