Tenant says she keeps getting attacked by landlord’s cat; cat therapist says the cat needs to get used to her not being a threat

SINGAPORE: A tenant in an HDB flat says that the pet cat of her landlord is very aggressive and keeps attacking her. When a cat therapist was consulted, she said the cat should be allowed out during the time the tenant eats dinner so it will get used to her not being a threat. This ended up with the tenant getting bitten on her arm, which left bloody marks.

The tenant, who arrived in Singapore a few months ago, describes the room as very nice and spacious, and is only a 20-minute commute to her workplace and asked Reddit users for advice on r/askSingapore on Sunday (Mar 12).

“I am very comfortable where I’m at currently, but I am at a loss… On one hand, I do understand that it isn’t right to have my safety at risk like that. But on another, I know that this room is the best I can get with this price. I just want to know whether it’s reasonable for me to continue staying on until my lease ends. Will the cat eventually change his behaviour or should i just give up and move out?”

The post author wrote that the cat has repeatedly attacked her but she understands it “thinks I’m intruding on his space, and has territorial aggression.”

“All the while, the landlord was trying to defend herself saying ‘if I knew the cat would respond like this, i wouldn’t have taken you in’, and ‘I was trying to give it a chance’, while fully telling me a history of its bad behaviour with other strangers,” she added.

“Love the room, location and space, just unsure whether my efforts of taking more bite marks or scars will even have an effect on it.”

Reddit users commenting on the post appeared to feel that the “cat therapist” had given bad advice.

A netizen wrote that the post author has “the right to a comforting place at the end of the day. Especially since you are literally paying for it.”

“Take back your deposit and find another place. That cat isn’t gonna change its temperament any time soon,” wrote another.

Others reminded the post author that cats are not allowed in HDB flats anyway.

/TISG

Real-life Tom & Jerry: Rat chases cat at Hougang Central