UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s is facing a legal challenge after an assistance cat for a man with autism was banned from its stores.
Writer Ian Fenn has been instructed by the supermarket giant that his companion Chloe is not welcome when he is grabbing his groceries.
The London man said he has trained the pet to help him manage his way through daily life.
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Sainsbury's, who allow assistance dogs on the shop floor, told him cats present risks to food hygiene and she can't come inside.
Ian said the cat helps his anxiety in busy and noisy environments and now a court fight is looming as he refuses to accept their reasons for shutting Chloe out.
He takes her on public transport after they met in a pub but after getting the boot from the store in Clapham, south London, he is refusing to let the matter lie.
The case might set a legal precedent if it has to be ruled on by top judges, the BBC report.
"I realised that my life was a lot better with her being around - there's a lot of autistic people suffering from depression. I'm not alone anymore," he said.
"I appreciate a bloke wandering around with a cat is a bit unusual but he reality is that I don't want that attention - what I want to do is just run my life normally.
"So when somebody says, 'No, you can't, because you have this creature that is helping you,' it's really upsetting. I get sensory overload in busy environments and tend to shut down. But with Chloe I can focus on her.
"She brings structure to my life, she wakes me up in the morning, she tells me when to go to bed.
"It's difficult to know how she feels about the relationship, but I feel that we're a team now."
Sainsbury's said the company are working with an environmental health team to find out how Ian and Chloe can visit safely.
In a statement, the supermarket said: "We want to be an inclusive retailer where people love to work and shop and understand that some of our colleagues and customers may need support in our stores.
"At the same time, safety is our highest priority and our colleagues are trained to balance maintaining our high food hygiene standards with supporting all our customers who shop with us.
"We are in contact with the local environmental health team to see if there are ways we can help Mr Fenn to visit our store without compromising this."
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