Tom looking for Jerry? Cat wanders into Pasir Panjang MRT station 2 days after rat spotted on train

Sarah Koh
The Straits Times
May 1, 2023

Tom and Jerry, the American cartoon characters depicting a cat and a mouse, appear to have made “guest appearances” at SMRT.

Just two days after a rat was spotted scurrying across the floor of a train carriage on Friday, a cat was spotted wandering into an MRT station on Sunday.

A video posted on TikTok by university student Jiannah Bianca on Sunday showed a cat sauntering down the steps onto the platform of a train station.

@jiannaaaaah

Ms Bianca, 22, told The Straits Times that she spotted the cat at Pasir Panjang MRT station on Sunday.

Two SMRT employees were seen in the video attempting to carry the furry feline out of the station, with little success.

“We called (SMRT) for help when we saw the cat because I was scared it would fall in the platform gap or something,” said Ms Bianca, who goes by her username jian on TikTok.

“I think the cat’s a regular there because the staff were calling his name.”

The video then cuts to a clip of the cat being “escorted” out of the station, with two station employees walking in tandem with it while keeping a watchful eye.

The video received close to 12,000 likes and 153 comments in 15 hours, with many netizens making jokes about the situation.

One netizen commented: “It’s chill. It’s just taking the Meow Rapid Transport.”

Others made cat puns, calling the Circle Line stop the “Paw-sir Panjang MRT station”, and saying the feline “just wanted to get to Tanah Meowah”.

The kitty’s escapades were captured just two days after a video by TikTok user Salem81 showed a rat running around inside a train that was arriving at Dover MRT station.

Commuters were seen lifting their legs one after another in an attempt to avoid it.

@salimscorpio When the rat wanting a free ride on the mrt#ratonmrt #ratfreeride #smrt ♬ It's a Beautiful Day - Evan McHugh

President of SMRT Trains Lam Sheau Kai told news site Stomp that SMRT employees boarded the train at Jurong East station to locate the rat, but were unable to find it.

They eventually caught and removed the rodent only after the train was withdrawn to the depot.