Singapore Expats

Hi All,

My husband and I are considering moving to Singapore from Canada in a couple of years and me being an obsessive compulsive person, I am already looking at the logistics.

One of my concerns in transporting our cat and I was wondering if anyone has had experience transporting a cat over such a long distance? I am LOATH to put him in cargo even if it is air conditioned and pressurized.

I have already read through the quarantine and licensing requirements etc. etc. and of course things may change in a couple of years.

Also, how common is it for apartments and condos to forbid cats?

Thanks in advance for any advice or comments.

Private housing and condo's make their own rules regarding pet ownership so it would be hard to say.

HDB's on the other hand expressly forbid the keeping of cats. Full Stop. HDB (Housing Development Board) Flats due to the current economy and recent changes to the rental of HDB units are starting to see a healthy number of expats shifting to these types of premises. So unless you have a very healthy housing budget you may well have to think about this.

Thank you very much for the reply. Leaving my cat behind is just not an option.

Yes, I have been looking at the rental prices and the option of HDB housing but since they don't allow cats, that is out.

Thanks again.

They may be banned but an awful lot of people in HDB flats have cats...

including me micknlea. Until she decided to lay about the void deck one afternoon. She disappeared and to this day we are just hoping somebody stole her as she loved people and attention and would just roll over on her back to have her belly scratched (only cat I ever saw that would let you do it voluntarily without clawing you). I think the ENV got her but how to go down to them as ask if you picked up my illegal cat! Had the little calico for 8 years.

Okay, what's a "void deck"? I am so sorry that you lost your cat. If she was that sweet I HOPE that someone took her in......

I have had cats who loved to have their tummies rubbed but they were all females Seriously.

We won't take the chance of having our beloved Dante taken away from us if we got found out. I honestly think it would kill me I love that cat so much. I've had many cats in the past but he is really special (in so many senses of the word!!!!).

Here in Ottawa landlords are not allowed to forbid pets (though they try) as long as you are within your legal limit and they don't disturb the other tenants in the building or cause other kinds of trouble. Neither here nor there when it comes to Singapore......

No, it's on the up and up for us. I would still appreciate some feedback on how prevalent it is for condos and apartment complexes to forbid cats. Is it more of a situation where the actual owner of the condo forbade cats or is it an issue of the complex forbidding them? I would imagine that owners of the better furnished apartments would be more likely to forbid cats than say an owner of an unfurnished apartment.

Will have to say, it's normally the condo management committee that makes the rules. Of course LL's will also have their own sets of rules possibly as well depending on the quality of furniture and whether or not they have been burned by inconsiderate tenants previously (like cats without a proper scratching post or any sort of training) Looking at the "Life" section of the newpapers, unless all cat owners live in landed property I would have to assume there are a lot of condo who do not really have restrictions (aside from the individual LL that is).

Sorry. A 'void' deck is the 1st (ground) floor of a block of flats. It is usually only structural pilings and has been normally converted into rest areas, sometimes kindergartens or even shops but normally it's completely open like a parking garage but you are not allowed to park there. Kinda like a community space as it were. Often will be furbished with chairs and tables (made out of concrete as the locals will tear anything else up in a week)

I am not sure if your cat is used to being outdoors, if so, then it is probably not a good idea to bring it unless you are planning on living in a house, landed/semi detached etc. You may have problems with condo's etc otherwise. If it is an indoor cat then don't worry you will be fine.

Our cats are indoor only, although they come out in the garden with me every evening, while I water my plants, they never get to wander further than the walls of the property. They were both adopted from the Cat Welfare Society, who advise people to keep their cats indoors here.

There are a lot of stray cats here, some people don't like them and report any cat to the authorities, there are also big drains, snakes, monkeys etc none of which are conducive to wandering felines.

PS...SMS, so sad to hear about your kitty, I do hope it found someone else who did the same as you.

Dante is an indoor cat though he does come put on our balcony with us in cooler weather so he probably won't show much interest in going out in Singapore LOL. I imagine he will like the prevalence of ceramic/marble floors as that seems to be where he lies about the most here.

He too is quite friendly with people including new ones. He's quite the party animal when we have guests.

We got him when he was just a kitten, not even weaned. He was abandoned in our apartment building when we lived elsewhere and he would have been sent to the pound if we hadn't taken him. I've never paid for a pet in my life (and I've had many) unless it was a fee to a shelter. Abandoned and stray pets just break my heart.

Rose12 wrote:Okay, what's a "void deck"? I am so sorry that you lost your cat. If she was that sweet I HOPE that someone took her in......

'void deck' is the empty spaces on the ground floor of HDB blocks.
If you go to flickr.com and search for "hdb void" you should find examples. Here's one:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/archisculpture/320021716/

We won't take the chance of having our beloved Dante taken away from us if we got found out. I honestly think it would kill me I love that cat so much. I've had many cats in the past but he is really special (in so many senses of the word!!!!).

If you are renting a HDB flat, chances are the landlord will clearly disallow cats as pets. The logic from HDB is outdated (cats are nomadic creatures that must roam outside etc) but the regulation stays. I'd avoid renting HDBs if you have a cat. The landlord may well come in one day and chase the cat out of the flat, pretending that it's a stray etc.

No, it's on the up and up for us. I would still appreciate some feedback on how prevalent it is for condos and apartment complexes to forbid cats. Is it more of a situation where the actual owner of the condo forbade cats or is it an issue of the complex forbidding them? I would imagine that owners of the better furnished apartments would be more likely to forbid cats than say an owner of an unfurnished apartment.

Most private residential condos have regulations about dogs rather than cats (because dogs do bark and owners tend to forget to clean up after they've done their business around the estate). So it's not likely that condos will not allow cats per se. But landlords may insist no pets allowed and it's up to you to negotiate with them on this. For condos there isn't an island-wide regulation against cats. I live in one and I brought my ragdoll over from the UK (12 hr flight + journey time from home outside of London/wait/export time etc = 20 hrs thereabouts). From the UK no quarantine's required so we picked up our grumpy cat from the animal health authority at Changi and zoomed him back home. he was happy to be out and about of his cage inside the car (although that's illegal too!).

You'll need to check with the AVA (the vet authority in spore) if you can say break your flight from Canada to Singapore via UK, stay there for a week or so and then fly to SIngapore. Whether that will bypass quarantine or not. (I don't think so but you should check).

There are some flights that allow cats to be brought into the cabin area. googling around will find you names of those airlines. (Lufthansa, Japan Airlines etc).

Good luck. Our ragdoll's enjoying the sun (doesn't get much of that in the UK!) although he hates the marbled floor (skids too much when he runs). Just keep the cat indoors and you'll be fine.

Thank you very much for that information. It is most helpful.