Letter to the Straits Times Forum 5 Nov 08;
MR WEE Eng Leong ("What is the point of having a rule banning cats in HDB flats when enforcement is ineffective?" on Saturday) is right to feel upset over the cat mess caused by irresponsible pet owners. However, his solution - to get the Government to more strictly enforce a ban on cats in HDB flats - isn't going to get the job done for a host of reasons.
I suspect that sometimes the ban is not so strictly enforced because local authorities who have a heart recognise something that the Government doesn't: that many of our citizens love cats and the companionship they bring. And how do you ban cats when there is real love involved?
As an animal lover, I often find myself in conversations with all sorts of people about their pets. Even a burly taxi driver can get misty-eyed talking about the cat who greets him when he comes off his late shift.
There is a more practical reason for reversing the ban that you don't have to be a cat lover to see: "legalise" cat ownership and you allow licensing and microchipping. Licensing means that cat owners can be held responsible for the actions of their pets and fined. Microchipping means that cats can be quickly identified and traced, not just when they leave a mess behind, but also when they are abandoned. And of course, sterilisation of pets has to be required - not just cats but dogs as well.
Let's try to make this a win-win situation for everyone. And I can offer a quick-fix to Mr Wee in the meantime: simply purchase a bag of mothballs, which is less than a dollar at NTUC FairPrice supermarkets, and sprinkle them in the area around his parents' flat. Cats hate the smell and will avoid the area. It works. But the ban on cats doesn't.
Joanna Colodin Hughes (Ms)
