True friends
What Feline Friends Abu Dhabi
Where Abu Dhabi
Who Colin Signorino chairs Feline Friends Abu Dhabi's monthly meetings and helps organise fundraising events like the annual Bazaar. He also helps his wife Anita to rescue street cats.
Why Catching stray cats and sterilising them does a world of good for them and the community.
Abu Dhabi-based Colin Signorino still remembers the first time he came across Tinman. "He had a cheese can tied around his neck,'' says Colin, and he was obviously in discomfort. Quite a few people in the area tried to catch him so they could remove the can, but it was impossible to do so. "Some of my neighbours approached us to help catch him, but he was extremely elusive,'' says Colin.
Elaborate traps were laid, enticing lures were placed, but Tinman always proved to be one step ahead of everyone. Once they did manage to nab him, but he clawed his way out of the cage and escaped, recalls Colin.
For close to three years they tried to catch him, but in vain.
"We got a mild sedative once from one of the vets and put it in some food and left it out for Tinman. However, he ate all of it and then walked off - the sedative had no effect on him! After nearly 15 attempts to catch him, we almost gave up when one day we got a call from one of our neighbours who informed us that Tinman's tin had come off. It must have finally corroded and just fallen off.'' Just in case you are wondering, Tinman is a cat. And in many ways, he is responsible for changing Colin and his wife's life.
"Since the beginning of our marriage 25 years ago, Anita and I have always been passionate animal lovers. Since our days in Malaysia when I was in the Royal Australian Air Force, at any time we have had at least a dog and a couple of cats as pets," says Colin. When they moved to Abu Dhabi, their interests in keeping pets took a new direction when they witnessed the plight of street cats - particularly that of Tinman. "We could not fathom the extent of their misery and so the best way for us was to get involved with Feline Friends."
Stray cats subjected to abuse
The Signorinos are one of the more active members of Feline Friends Abu Dhabi who do the best they can to save stray cats.
The Signorinos may have full-time jobs as teachers in Abu Dhabi schools, but their hearts are deeply entrenched in the need to save cats. "We see animals as pets, but many in Abu Dhabi see animals as pests. Moreover, cats have been allowed to multiply due to the lack of a proper sterilisation programme.'' Cats are not the only animals the couple has saved. "We have rescued dogs, chickens, ducks..."
"One of my first rescues was a cat that had fallen out of a twelfth storey apartment building into the rear window of a parked car. Thankfully, someone called us and we managed to catch the cat and rush it to a vet clinic. The cat had a broken jaw but survived. When the owners of the cat returned home in the evening and were told that Feline Friends volunteers has rescued their pet and taken it to a vet, they were overjoyed. They were very happy that Feline Friends had responded so quickly to the call and helped save their pet."
Colin says, "We get frequent calls to rescue cats and kittens.''
There have been quite a few occasions when they have been requested to rescue cats which have fallen down drains.
"Tempting a cat out of a drain is an arduous task. We open the manhole cover (which is very heavy) and lower a trapping cage with food down the drain. This process can sometimes take hours, even days. If that doesn't work then we build a little wooden ramp in the drain so that the cat can walk up the ramp and come out."
Although they are sister organisations with the same basic goals, Feline Friends Abu Dhabi works as a separate entity from Feline Friends Dubai. Being one of the two lone animal charities in Abu Dhabi, it is now getting quite difficult for the group to accommodate the increasing numbers of stray cats. "We are in desperate need of an animal shelter in the capital," says Colin. "People do the right thing in contacting us when they see an animal suffering in the street. But after that's done, they forget all about Feline Friends and how they, the public, can have a more active hand in supporting this cause."
Arduous task at hand
Street cats are pretty vicious. "Most of them would rip us to pieces if we tried to handle them. We catch these cats in feral cat traps, sterilise them and put them back on the street, so as to help reduce the numbers of strays in the city."
What's the breakdown cost for each cat to undergo sterilisation before it is homed? "Before a cat can be homed it needs to be treated, vaccinated and sterilised and this can cost Dh600 per cat. We then have vet bills to pay. We also try and help the public get their street cats sterilised and prevent suffering. A female street cat can give birth to 9-18 kittens per year. A large percentage of these end up suffering from sickness, starvation, being run over or killed by other cats fighting for their territory and food. We were lucky enough to have food and kitty litter sponsored by Purina. Our volunteers take every opportunity to speak to children at schools and youth groups. We have also assisted the municipality contracted companies to produce public awareness pamphlets in English and Arabic.'' However, they are yet to be distributed.
While the Signorinos know that they make a difference through their endeavours, they still feel frustrated. "There is only so much we will ever be able to do with the limited resources we have within Feline Friends." Larger campaigns and sustained initiatives are necessary, they say.
How the public can contribute
In order to help them with the annual operating costs, which amount to more than Dh160,000, Feline Friends Abu Dhabi organises yearly fund-raisers which are hugely popular and successful.
"Every year, we seek constructive criticism from vendors and the general public after every bazaar. It is only with their positive input that we can go about making the event better and thereby giving the community a chance to feel involved in a good cause. Apart from that, we do not get as many donations, big or small, as people might think. So we must have fund-raisers to be able to continue our work."
Currently, Feline Friends Abu Dhabi is looking for sponsorship for the 2011 calendar. They also accept second-hand books in good condition and are looking for children's books, special interest books as well as books in different languages to cater to the multicultural expat community in Abu Dhabi.
"The reality is, in this current economic climate, Feline Friends will not survive if we do not have some kind of government grant or private sponsorship," says Colin.
"We need our own premises and our own vet. The only way, it seems is to try and find sponsors who would be interested in helping us out. If we are given a place, we would be self-sufficient and would then be able to help even more cats implement a proper street cat sterilisation programme before the cat is homed. Most times, the money raised is not enough to help the cats."
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