• Home

Cattery loses nine cats

DUBAI — An Al Quoz-based kennel and cattery run by a well-known pet shop located on Shaikh Zayed Road, lost nine cats that were left there for a few days, Mohammed Sharief, the owner of the cats, claimed.

Sharief left his cats, three of which were adults while the remaining six were kittens, at Chalets, the cattery in question some two months ago, only to receive a call the next day about the disappearance of his cherished feline pets.

“The lady veterinarian calling me from the cattery was hysterical and apologetic, and told me that the cage in which the cats were kept was open and all nine cats were missing,” he told Khaleej Times.

The owner of the pets said he took the cats to the cattery because there were many guests at his home and it was difficult to manage, but he never expected a professionally managed facility like Chalets would lose a pet in its custody.

According to him the whole episode is strange as the cats were not of a special breed to be of any financial value. “I followed up the matter with the cattery, which is run by Pet Zone, and was assured of their best efforts to get me back my cats. They kept telling me that the cats must have escaped and gone into hiding in the tiles factory adjacent to the facility, so I personally went to this factory and looked around without any luck,” he said.

Sharief claimed that staff at the Chalets also sought help from a well-known pet-related organisation, where they were told to set traps for the cats, but added he was not sure if this was done. “After several days passed I had given up all hopes of finding my pets, and would have not taken up the matter again had it not been for the attitude of the staff at the cattery,” he said, adding that he believed “they have washed their hands off” the matter.

“I am not after a financial compensation, because it won't bring me back my cats, but I want people to know this can happen,” Sharief added.

When Khaleej Times contacted Chalets to get their version of the story, no senior staff was available for comment, and this reporter was referred to one Mr Samer, who staff at the cattery said was the 'manager' at Pet Zone. But repeated attempts to contact Samer were unsuccessful.

• UAE