On Mar. 10, a video of a man "disciplining" his pet cat went viral among Singapore Facebook users.

Rough handling

The 24-second clip, which was originally uploaded as an Instagram story by a woman filming it, shows a man scolding and hitting a ginger cat for peeing on the floor.

"If you pee, I will hit you," the man said as he grasped the cat by the nape of its neck.

He then slaps the animal on its hindquarters.

Upon being "disciplined", the cat urinated even more, leaving a noticeable puddle on the floor.

The man continued to berate the cat for the rest of the video, even lifting the feline off the ground at the end of the clip.

A woman's laughter could be heard in the background.

You can watch the video below, but viewer discretion is advised. Identities of the people in the video have been censored by us.

However, the post has since been removed.

This was the caption accompanying the post:

"Hi I saw this on instagram and my blood is boiling given that the cat is peeing while being held means that its really very scared. I have tagged spca, please help share or advice who else could help remove the cat from this situation. SPCA Singapore"

Terrified cat

Many members of the community were understandably outraged, and believed that the cat had peed out of fear.

Others wanted to help the cat.

As a result of the backlash, both the man in the video and the woman filming it have made their social media accounts unavailable.

In the midst of all the outrage, one user cautioned against spreading hate.

She added that it was not the first time she has heard of the cat community in Singapore being "extremely rude and insensitive".

"Very likely" peeing out of fear

In response to queries from Mothership, SPCA confirmed that the case has been reported to them.

The animal welfare organisation also said that they are in touch with the cat's owner, and are currently investigating.

Furthermore, it is "very likely" that cat was peeing out of fear.

SPCA adds that it is "not uncommon" for pets to be physically abused by their owners if they are deemed to have done something wrong.

SPCA advises against shouting or beating an animal in order to train them, and adds that there are more humane and science-based methods to do so.

You can read the full statement here:

"The case has been reported to us. We are in touch with the cat’s owner and we are currently investigating.

It is very likely that the cat is peeing out of fear. It is unfortunately not uncommon for animals to be physically abused if they have done something wrong in the eyes of their owner. There is no need to shout at, terrify or beat an animal in the name of training. This old school approach is completely counterproductive. There are effective humane and science based methods to train an animal. If any pet owner wants to find out more, they can contact the SPCA."

Top image via Facebook video