'Cats being dumped, poisoned': Dubai rescuers spend 'up to Dh300,000' to save strays

Multiple trips to the vet in a day and hundreds of thousands of dirhams in debt: Cat rescuers across Dubai seem to have a similar tale to tell.

In a city where these felines are found in abundance in communities and parks, the reality of those who are trying to shelter, feed and control the cat population is not so rosy. Their biggest problem is not just rescuing and caring for these animals, but trying to combat the root of the issue — namely, cat dumpings, trappings, and poisonings in some neighbourhoods in the city.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, some rescuers shared their plight as they grapple with paying veterinary bills out of pocket, getting developers onboard to install feeding stations, funding TNRs (trap-neuter-release programmes), along with spreading awareness among other residents in their communities.

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Cat dumpings, poisonings

Pakistani expat Faiqa Anwar has been living in Jumeirah Park since December 2020. This is her second Nakheel property (she previously lived at Jumeirah Heights in 2013). Part of a group of cat rescuers running operations within the locality, the women have vaccinated most of the cats in their community.

“Rescuers in our community are taking 3-4 rounds every day to get cats neutered at the vet and treat sick, injured and disabled ones. We have spent so much money on this. Some people are in debt to clinics and repay with contributions or their own earnings later on.”

Faiqa has spent around Dh200,000-Dh300,000 on TNRs and treatments since she began rescue work eight years ago in 2016. During the pandemic itself, she shelled out around Dh80,000 on treating cats.

Unfortunately, she says, there have been trappings by pest control companies in the community. “There have been cases where traps were placed in people’s backyards. In some cases, house pets were trapped. This is why I don’t let my house cats roam about even in the backyard.”

As per Faiqa, there have also been cases of poisoned cats. “We’re not sure who poisoned them, but we’ve had some tragic cases where vets have confirmed it as the cause of death.”

The Jumeirah Park resident says she has taken these issues up with the developer and sent them a letter, but received no proper response. “They say they’ll do something about it but nothing has materialised yet. I’ve been listening to this for years.”

Rescuers want community managers to stop ‘pest control’ trappings and offer clean and healthy feeding solutions — similar to the ones put in place by some major developers in the city.

In a statement to Khaleej Times, a spokesperson from Nakheel said: "Nakheel is committed to ensuring the welfare of all animals across its communities, assets and destinations in Dubai. The guidelines issued by Dubai Municipality are closely followed in relation to stray cats and these guidelines are also regularly shared with residents and tenants of communities to ensure that they are followed."

The management "meets regularly with its residents and tenants, and actively invites any issues or concerns to be raised directly with them in relation to the welfare of stray cats or any animals within Nakheel’s communities", the spokesperson added.

Cat dumpings, Faiqa says, is a common occurrence. “Many people leaving the UAE dump their domesticated pets in other communities and parks. This causes a serious overpopulation problem and is cruel to the animals who have lived inside homes their entire lives.”

“There are many residents who throw leftover food and biryani on the roads for cats. I understand how this can bother the community management. But this is why it's so important to have proper feeding stations and rules from the management,” she added.

Elif Aydin Cinar, a 43-year-old Turkish resident living in Dubai’s Greens community, has also seen many cats and kittens dumped in her locality. “There is a group of women in our community who rescues dumped and sick cats. Everybody is so frustrated with vet bills and the emotional pressure of finding homes or fosters for them,” said the expat, who is also involved in rescuing and spaying/neutering animals to ensure reduced population.

However, since they formed a mutual agreement with their developer Emaar to permit feeding and neutering of strays at veterinary clinics without interference, Elif said neither she nor her group of rescuers have noticed any trappings or poisonings in the community. Emaar declined to give a statement for this report.

An architect by profession, Elif hopes to build an animal shelter that will house a veterinary clinic, along with a cafe where families can spend time with animals. “We need support from sponsors to realise this project. We would need help with animal welfare funding so that we can conduct TNRs in our community and reduce the cat population.”

Financial, emotional burden

In Jumeirah 1, 49-year-old rescuer Jessica Vigus has faced her own troubles while trying to help her local community strays. She got into rescue work during the pandemic. "Multiple kittens were being born at that time. A lot of residents didn't like this. So instead of doing something about it in a proper manner, they would pay someone to poison or trap the cats and take them away.

“These companies claim that they will release the cats into other nicer communities, but we have never seen proof of this. Instead, the cats completely disappear or we hear cases of mass dumpings in deserts,” she added.

Jessica has been getting sterilisations for the cats done out of her own resources as well as through donations from sponsors. "I usually go out once a month and get stray cats (mostly females) and take them to the vet. We’ve done almost 60 in our locality but, obviously, it’s a financial burden if you’re doing this out of your own pocket.”

Involved in rescue work since four years, Jessica has spent around Dh15,000 on cat TNRs and treatments.

Recently, she had to deal with multiple cases where the cats had to be put down. "The financial strain as well as emotional weight of this has got me a little fatigued of late. It costs Dh600 to put down a cat." According to her, neurological and renal issues, maggots, and life-threatening viruses are pretty common in cats who are being put down.

“I had one injured cat whose kidney and intestines were popping out from the side. I took it to the vet and it ended up costing me Dh4,500. After that, I’ve been a bit more selective with the cats I help, taking into consideration their condition and if they will be easily rehabilitated or not."

Living in a community owned by Al Wasl properties, Jessica hasn't reached out to her developer due to warning letters that have been issued by them towards people who are helping and feeding cats. "They have been doing this due to complaints from residents. There have been cats that were taken and disappeared. Some of these were microchipped cats."

Khaleej Times reached out to Wasl Properties who also declined to give a statement. “Without support from the municipality for rescuers like us who are trying to maintain a healthy population and ensure cats’ wellbeing, this is a very overwhelming task," she said.

Speaking to Khaleej Times about population control, a call centre agent at Dubai Municipality said they schedule a sterilisation program in communities where feline population is on the rise. They start by trapping cats, neutering them and then releasing them back into the same communities. These cats have one ear chipped after the surgery to distinguish them from non-sterilised cats.

The agent also said they work with private companies who help in trapping these cats for sterilisation purposes, after which they are released back into the same communities. According to the authority's website, this service is carried out to prevent stray animals from being harmed in residential neighbourhoods and highways, and in order to maintain public health and safety.

Residents and rescuers who wish to get strays sterilised at veterinary clinics on their own are welcome to do so, the agent added.

Resistance from other residents

Staggering bills aside, there's also a fair bit of pushback from other residents in the community that rescuers have to contend with at times. “Many of us are trying to care for these dumped cats secretly because of the disdain that we receive from many of our neighbours," said Faiqa, a banker by profession. "They don't understand that we are trying to get them spayed and neutered which helps in reducing their population.”

She recalled an unpleasant interaction with her neighbour who once approached her in a threatening manner while she was feeding the cats.

“People think that feeding the cats invites more of them. But that is completely false. Cats are territorial animals who keep other cats out of the community. If you throw these cats out, others will come in and make it their home or be dumped here. Whereas if we TNR the current felines, then they'll ensure more cats don't enter and there is no population increase either. This is why we need help from the management.”

Microchipped cats

By law, pet owners in the UAE are required to get their cats microchipped so that they can be easily tracked back to their owners. Surprisingly, these cats are also dumped.

“When we take an injured microchipped cat to the vet, it causes a serious problem for doctors, since by law they are not allowed to operate on them unless they have the consent of its owners,” said Faiqa Anwar.

Most of the time, owners are not willing to take the pet back or cover their costs. “They abandon them. The vet then has to wait for a time period to operate or try to get the cat adopted to treat it. And this wait can be dangerous for the cat’s health,” she added.

Carlie Leake, a British expat residing in the UAE, runs the first pet safety app in the country. Called 'Where my paws at', the app helps pet parents track their lost furry ones, putting out lost-and-found alerts as well as missing posters in addition to creating tracking tags to keep pets safe.

"We help pet parents through a microchipped database. We’re building a community to track lost cats along with rescuers and feeders, while giving back to the stray community. Light needs to be shed on these situations."

Carlie has noticed many microchipped cats being dumped across Dubai. "So many cats have been turning up in colonies across Dubai. If these cats aren’t registered with the municipality, it's very hard to get them treated."

The founder also helps get stray cats adopted and fostered, with a dedicated page on her website where rescuers can post about their cats. Whenever possible, Carlie's organisation also funds TNRs. "Last year, we ran a 'Neuter November' campaign where we helped sterilise as many cats as possible during that month."

How to spot a dumped cat

Spotting a dumped cat can get confusing due to the high population of cats across Dubai. Speaking to Khaleej Times, Crystal Sequeira from Red Paw Foundation, a rescue organisation for pets in the city, explained how residents can spot and help a dumped cat.

"Arabian Maus are the local breed found in the UAE. If you see any exotic breed roaming in your locality, that’s an indication for a dumped cat."

Another sign to watch out for is how they behave around you. "Strays won't approach you directly, but dumped cats will come meowing as they are used to human presence and are often confused in the outside environment," said Crystal.

As per Crystal, there are two main causes behind dumpings. "Breeders often dump grown cats who don’t provide any benefit to them any more. These are usually sick female cats. Kittens are dumped pretty often too if they don’t get adopted, since they can't reproduce at such a young age."

The second most common source of dumpings are pet owners who have left the country or can't cant cover costs for treatment. "Cats are easier to dump than dogs due to their size and how unnoticed it goes in our communities," noted Crystal.

Red Paw has taken up countless cases of dumped cats. "We first take them to clinics to check if they have been chipped — this process is free of charge. A scanning machine is easily available to check this."

The 36-year-old resident of Dubai shared a personal story where she took up a case of a cat involved in a car accident. After finding out the cat was chipped, she got in touch with its owners who refused to take the cat back as they didn't want to cover medical costs and were afraid it would be paralysed forever.

"They asked us to put it to sleep. Today, Loki is walking and is completely fine. I personally took up that case and it cost us Dh7,000."

The organisation owns a cat villa where they keep cats while looking for permanent homes or foster homes. They also have emergency fosters who can take up cases and use their social media platforms to try and get the felines adopted.

"We have been in touch with Dubai Municipality to help us with our rescue work. They have been cooperative. Nothing is official as of now, but talks are ongoing," said Crystal.

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