On Mar. 10, a video of a frightened ginger cat peeing itself went viral in Singapore.

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

In response, the cat let out a large puddle of urine, likely out of fear, according to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

Many members of the animal community in Singapore were enraged by the incident.

So enraged, in fact, that they tracked down the woman's Instagram to leave death threats, as well as threats to report them to the authorities for animal abuse.

Speaking to Mothership, the woman who originally filmed the video said that these accusations "could not be further from the truth".

"We love our cat very much, and we certainly do not wish any intentional harm or trauma on it," she added.

Frequently urinates outside bedroom

The man in the video, the woman revealed, is her boyfriend.

As to why he hit the cat, the woman explained that the cat has been urinating indoors every day, outside her boyfriend's room, in particular.

This has been going on for close to a year.

While they have been trying to stop the cat from doing so, it has not worked.

Verbal warnings and cat urine repellents have been used to no avail, she said.

Her boyfriend then made the decision to discipline the cat by "firmly hitting him on its rear and sternly talking to it".

Since the incident, the couple has brought the cat to the vet on the recommendation of SPCA, whom they reached out to on the night of the incident.

SPCA then visited them the next morning to follow-up on the case.

The woman said:

"Our case attendant who visited warned us that any sort of physical force to the animal can constitute abuse, and shared that there are other scientifically-proven ways to better discipline an animal. They arranged for a check-up on our cat’s wellbeing at the vet, and are awaiting the vet’s report before providing more information on better discipline techniques."

While the owners were not privy to the full report handed to the Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS), the vet reportedly told them that the cat was physically well.

According to the woman, they have also reached out to a few other "specialist groups", who they hope will be able to provide further advice on disciplining cats.

Had the cat for eight years

The cat has been in her boyfriend's family for eight years, she added.

Responsibility for the cat is shared across the family.

Here are some photos of the cat under other circumstances:

The video in question was actually taken on Dec. 29, 2019, but only posted on Mar. 10, 2020 when she came across it in her camera roll.

Unfortunately, as the couple has learnt, that led to plenty of backlash.

The woman said:

"We have seen plenty of comments criticising the way the cat was treated, how we should not be pet owners, and how we should be taken to task for treating our pet this way. We have also seen more personal comments insulting our appearances and perceived upbringing, and even a few on how they might find us and physically harm us."

The pair then made the decision of deactivating their social media accounts within hours of the incident blowing up.

It was done to protect the "privacy of friends and family members, and [to] prevent innocent parties from being unnecessarily dragged into this issue," the woman explained.

Videos taken out of context?

In response to the backlash, the couple said they came to understand how viewers may interpret their actions as abuse, although the couple themselves firmly believe otherwise.

However, they also felt that the viewers were too quick to judge.

"Without knowing any more context behind the videos, we do not feel like that the personal attacks, doxxing, and calls to take the cat away from us are at all justified.

[...]

In the past we’ve seen similar situations of incidents spinning out of control on social media, especially when accusations are accompanied by what looks like incriminating evidence. Now that we have experienced it first-hand, we have certainly gained a much deeper appreciation for not being so quick to judge a situation shared online, as there can be a lot more history and factors behind the scenes that we are simply not aware of, or cannot infer, from a viral photo, video, or screenshot."

Moving forward, they will continue to research on more suitable methods of training their cat.

This incident has taught them that are lacking in knowledge on how to properly discipline animals, the woman admitted.

She also reinforced her stance as an animal lover.

She said,

"I love all animals, not just cats, and regardless of whether that animal belongs to me or not. The cat and I spend plenty of time together, and enjoy each other’s company. It is just this one issue of discipline and bad habit that has unfortunately been blown out of proportion."

Top image screenshot from video, cat's owners

https://mothership.sg/2020/03/cat-abuse-nparks-investigates