I have a different view for what it's worth.
There are two main problems with Cathay in my opinion, and I think both create negative views as above.
Numer one, and by far the biggest factor:
you will be based in Hong Kong if you start employment with Cathay. Forget basings, they will be out of reach for anyone joining now. This means you either accept this place as your residence, or you commute and become miserable from day one. Hong Kong can be a problematic city for Westerners. It is relatively expensive, heavily polluted at times, humid and very hot in summer, and if you don't commit yourself to years of studying Chinese, your social life will be comprised of other expats. Housing is usually a small flat in a high rise, international schools have high debentures and monthly fees, Western food is dear. You will live a typical expat life, because of the language barrier excluded from most cultural offerings, local people will likely remain a mystery to you. Most pilots do not get used to the city, regardless of their contract. That is the main problem. Cathay is based in Hong Kong and that is that. Check for yourself if you like it here, and most importantly, if your family does. I personally don't find it that bad, I like the mentality of the locals, I like the fact that I can travel around Asia easily, it is bearable for me here. I enjoy the comfort of a live-in nanny, the low tax system,the fantastic public transport, and the general international vibe. I married a local and my kids speak Chinese. I love the local kitchen and I buy most of my groceries on layovers. I am on B scale, so if the lower package you will get offered is sufficient to you is something you need to evaluate for yourself. It will largely depend on your alternatives of course, a point that many colleagues miracously find very hard to digest. Do not count on improvements of your package after joining, this will be in vain.Some C scale pilots are currently in the painfull process of realizing this, and some of the extreme comments are the result of it. Many colleagues, especially those in here, do not like Hong Kong, period. Fair enough. But in my observation, this is independent from the package they are on, lots of B scale pilots are miserable, see the commentator above. In my opinion, the crucial point is if you are really willed to spend your life in Hong Kong. Those who don't like the local people, the culture, the food or the density are having a hard time. These people end up frustrated, and some then go on to blame the company for their misery. Don't make this mistake. I have to honestly admit, I also have my days where I had it, but almost always is the reason not Cathay, but rather the job itself: the jetlag, the pollution, the weather etc. I sometimes miss my family, my friends, my car and my home country, but in general Cathay has treated me well. I really can't blame them for my decision to join.
Reason number two affects the entire industry. Conditions get worse, everywhere, since decades now, and except maybe at American majors there is no end in sight. This is a psychological burden that is very irritating. Cathay has to survive in this toxic market, plus unfortunately still suffers from serious management mistakes and other effects like increased local competition. Most pilots here see Cathay as the villain, but in my opinion this is largely scape goating for a very challenging industry as a whole. Tough labor negotiations taking place as we speak don't help either, and Hong Kong legislation is not very labour-friendly to put it mildly. Most colleagues been here so long, they don't know the reality outside of the bubble anymore. They have no idea what life at a low cost airline really means, at cargo airlines, in the corporate sector. They don't know how hard you have to work at most places, they don't know how meagre your net pay after massive taxes usually really is. They have, at least in my opinion, a nostalgic and at times sentimental viewpoint.
Take all insights with a pinch of salt, mine included. Make up your own mind.