Sunny Side Up Star Ling Ying Brings Cat Home Against Mum’s Wishes, Says “Miracles Do Happen” As Latter Has Warmed Up To Having A Pet

If you owned a pet when you were younger, or always had a family pet growing up, just know that you are one of the lucky ones. 

Many would remember the experience of asking our parents for a pet, only to be met with a very quick and direct “no”. 

Which was what made local actress Ling Ying’s recent TikTok all the more relatable.

The Sunny Side Up star posted the video earlier this week, where she filmed herself introducing her four-and-a-half-month-old kitten, Lao Ban (老板), or 'Boss' in English, to her very shocked mum for the first time. 

Speaking to 8days.sg via voice messages, Ling Ying, 30, told us that she “wanted a cat for years”, but was always “rejected" by her mum, who wasn’t keen on having pet fur around the house as she “kinda has OCD”. 

However, Ling Ying knew that Lao Ban was going home with her the moment she met him.

They “had an instant connection” and even share the same birthday, September 30th. 

“It’s like fate calling out to me, like: You’re the one,” said Ling Ying.

“I feel like it was time for me to get a cat because I’m old enough to be responsible for it and take care of it,” she added.

And so she decided to "just try for it".

"At most, what happens? Homeless? I mean me, me being homeless," chuckled Ling Ying.

If you’ve watched her TikTok, you would have noticed that upon opening the door of Ling Ying’s room, her mum looked to be in shock as she exclaimed in Mandarin: “You scared me to death!”

Turns out, the actress had been decluttering the house to prepare for the arrival of Lao Ban, but her mum “did not suspect anything at all”. 

She then started to hide her cat stuff around the house so her mum would not find out about her plans. 

“When I brought the cat back, I hid him in my room because the rule is that you shouldn't expose the cat to the whole house first, and [instead] you should do it room by room. So he was in my room and my door was closed. When my mum got home, I called [out to] her [to come in],” said Ling Ying. 

She admitted that she was so nervous she was “shaking” at that moment. 

She revealed that her mum was so shocked to see Lao Ban on her bed that she “actually jumped back”.

Though stunned, she managed to ask Ling Ying many questions, such as “where she got the cat from” and “how she got it”. 

“She started to frown and I could see her entering the ‘dark zone’, so I immediately stopped her and started to tell her [all the good things] about my cat, like how he’s very friendly and harmless,” recounted Ling Ying.

Lucky for Ling Ying, her mum eased up after taking a moment to herself in her own room. She entered Ling Ying’s room again after a while and started to pet Lao Ban with the actress’ encouragement. 

“I think I saw a spark of hope in her. She was like “hmm, okay actually it’s not that bad”. Then she carried the cat, and she smiled. I think miracles do happen,” chuckled Ling Ying. 

As it stands, her mum has accepted Lao Ban, but still jumps up in shock once in a while when he dashes past her. "She’s not used to having pets around the house," explained Ling Ying.

Her mum even offered to feed her cat while she was out for work. 

And if that isn’t a big win, we don’t know what is.

“Bring the cat home first and face the music later,” was the advice Ling Ying got from Mediacorp actor Chen Xi when they were working on English drama Kin. 

Turns out, Chen Xi, who is the proud owner of two cats, was initially “not allowed” to bring home any pets either. 

He assured Ling Ying of his method, telling her that his parents — Edmund Chen and Xiang Yun — ended up “loving the cat so much more than him”. 

That gave her the push she needed to bring Lao Ban home. 

However, Ling Ying also shared that she had gotten comments on her TikTok from people who have tried the same method. 

While the “do first, face the music later” method worked for many, some were not as lucky.

“All I can say is that it really depends on whether you are able to provide for the cat, and it also depends on [your] family and situation. So please only bring a cat home if you can provide for it well, and it’s a lifetime responsibility,” advised the actress. 

“If you get thrown out of your house, I’m not gonna be responsible for it," she laughed.

Photos: Ling Ying/ TikTok, Ling Ying/ Instagram, Catwalk Asia, Chen Xi/ Instagram

Catch Ling Ying in long-form drama Sunny Side Up on meWATCH, or watch an episode below.