Sainsbury's cat issue

[Redburnett]

Am I the only person who thinks that the only logical conclusion is to allow anyone to take their cat into Sainsbury's to go shopping with them?

I am a cat lover BTW (and probably also autistic, but who cares when one is old).

I saw this...its definitely a new one on me.
If cats aren't recognised as assistance animals like dogs are, then i don't see how he could possibly win from suing them. 🐱🐱

I can’t imagine there would be many cats who would tolerate a trip to the shops.
I suppose the concern might be that it may encourage others to bring their parrot/lizard/snake or whatever into the shops claiming they are assistance animals too.

I was 🤔 at the thing about the cat being a trained support animal. 🙄

It’s a food shop! What would the environmental health inspector say about cats moulting fur round exposed food? And what next, are vermin like rats and mice also welcome?

How many of you have watched A Cat Named Bob and melted? Of course it should be allowed.

nb: we have four cats. I wouldn’t dream of taking them out and about because that’s not how they were raised.

This cat was. They are very smart. She is fine and enhances het
owner’s life. in return, she is much loved.

So, what does this cat actually do?

Help him find the fish counter?

Assistance dogs are allowed into supermarkets though, and not just non-moulting breeds?

It might be that dogs are genuinely more hygienic than cats, but I thought it was generally the opposite!

I adore cats, I do. And as the mother of 2 ASD kids I’ve been researching getting an autism specialist service dog for them. But there are many things a service dog can do that a cat can’t, or simply won’t. Applying pressure when in meltdown. Physically stopping them from bolting (either by using body to block or using their weight to anchor), fetch ear defenders/favourite blanket or toy. Etc etc.

I have to say the whole hygiene thing is probably “cat’s gonna cat”. They can be fiercely loyal and they’re soft and calming to touch and all that, but they will also get distracted, jump up, accept love from others, hide if it’s too crazy, steal all of the dreamies from the shelf in Sainsburys

Tbh I think the fact that it's a cat is irrelevant. The issue is should untrained animals be considered the same as service animals.

To my mind, no they shouldn't.

I have no doubt that this man gets a lot of support from his cat and it sounds like he has put a lot of effort into training it.

However, the reason why service dogs (and the odd horse) are allowed access to public places such as shops is because they are highly trained to a particular standard.

Removing that requirement would mean chancers taking their pets wherever they want, genuine service animal users being refused entry more regularly (yes it's illegal but that happens now anyway), other service animals being put at risk of attack from untrained animals, particularly in confined spaces.

I think the answer is to expand training of service animals to allow more people to access them rather than removing training requirements. Currently waiting lists are very long.

In my view, anyone who can train a cat to accompany them round a supermarket has probably earned the right to do just that! No mean feat! 😂

@Soapboxqueen I agree. We had a patient who was trying to persuade us to let her bring her pet hedgehog into hospital, as it was her support animal. 🤔🤔. We said no. A fully trained seizure dog or a guide dog, fine if not practical on a ward. But not any pet just because.