An autistic man has launched a legal battle against Sainsbury's after he was asked to leave their store because he was with his assistance cat Chloe.
Ian Fenn, 51, says Chloe is a 'lifeline' for him by helping him reduce his sensory overload, and he is challenging Sainsbury's over their decision to allow assistance dogs but not cats. He is taking the supermarket giant to court over disability discrimination.
Sainsbury's argue that cats pose a hygiene risk in the supermarket, and they "have to put customer and colleague safety and maintaining our high food hygiene standards first.”
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Chloe is not your ordinary black cat. Ian has spent years training her, from when he was diagnosed with autism in 2020, to accompany him on train journeys, museum visits, to the supermarket, and to any other places he may otherwise struggle to access due to his sensory issues. The owner-training of assistance dogs is accepted and permitted under the law - Ian argues that it is the same for cats.
"She accompanies me pretty much everywhere, she's my constant companion," Ian told the Manchester Evening News. "She reduces the sensory overload so I don't feel as overwhelmed by normal things, or what other people would consider normal.
"She reduces a lot of anxiety about things going wrong."
He first started training Chloe as an assistance cat after he was forced to take her on a work trip to Newcastle, where he realised that her presence helped him cope with sensory overload. He had a special meeting with the rail operator in order to convince them that Chloe could sit on his lap, and she has been helping him ever since.
She usually sits on a hip seat designed for parents and toddlers, which allows her to sit over Ian's torso with her front paws over his shoulder, so she can turn her head whichever way she wishes. In this "safe space," Chloe helps keep Ian grounded, and he keeps her company in the big wide world.
Ian has got used to calling ahead to venues and shops to check to see if Chloe is welcome - he said the usual response he gets is a welcoming and excited 'yes'. He frequently shops in other supermarkets with no issue, and had previously had no problems shopping with Chloe in two other Sainsbury's branches.
But in March 2022, he was asked to leave the store's Clapham Common branch after being told that Chloe could not enter - despite the fact that assistance dogs are allowed.
He's now taking them to court, arguing that they have not made the 'reasonable adjustment' required by law if you're placed at a substantial disadvantage because of your disability compared with non-disabled people or people who don't share your disability.
Ian said he takes care to ensure that Chloe poses the least risk possible to people with cat allergies - she eats a special food that reduces her risk to those who are allergic, and is treated with a formula that does the same. Chloe also wears a high-vis jacket, so that people with allergies can spot her quickly and opt to move away.
Together, Ian and Chloe have been to over 200 venues - including several here in Manchester, such as the Imperial War Museum North, and the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester, where Ian says the pair consistently got a warm welcome.
"She's specially trained, she's not a problem for anyone," he said. He has obtained special permission from a number of companies including Transport for Greater Manchester, LNER, and M&S to shop and travel with Chloe - but can't understand why Sainsbury's won't do the same.
He says he consistently gets a good reaction to Chloe from other members of the public. "They're curious," he said. "They're generally pleased because it's the last thing that they expected to see. It's surprising, and she's very cute".
Ian even credits Chloe with helping him through depression, that has plagued him through his adult life, and says his general well-being is much better because of her.
"Chloe has done a huge amount of positive things for me, with no [negative] impact on other people," he said. "I have no doubt that if she did not exist, I might not be here at the moment."
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We want to be an inclusive retailer where people love to work and shop. We have explained to Mr Fenn that we want to support all our customers who shop with us but at the same time we have to put customer and colleague safety and maintaining our high food hygiene standards first.”
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