Dubai
I’d like to share the story of a feline who has been going through a tough time because of her owner’s health.
The owner, a British national who doesn’t wish to be named, has had a cat for a few years. Unfortunately, she is suffering from cancer and had to go in for surgery. She reached out to me and requested for some help to foster her pet while she was getting treatment in the hospital. She thought that she would be out soon and would then take her pet home.
We found the cat a foster home and took her there. She was very nervous, which is understandable. She had a home and an owner and suddenly she was being moved and didn’t understand why. It had an impact on her, and she was very uncomfortable.
The story didn’t end there; the situation got worse. After the surgery, the woman lost sight in her left eye. The tumour had been pressing on a nerve and due to the pressure she was unable to see anymore. She has cataracts in the other eye, so now she is struggling. In a time frame of five weeks, her health has gotten much worse.
Her son also lives in the UAE, but he’s married and lives in a one-bedroom apartment and already has two cats. He, therefore, couldn’t take his mother’s cat and she didn’t want to give her pet up for adoption. She never expected the situation to get so bad. She is over 60 years of age and has no energy. Sometimes I call her and I can hear the nurses talking to her. Even though she is so unwell, she is concerned about how long the treatment will take because she’s worried about her cat. Additionally, there is also the concern of health insurance; once they stop approving the bills for the treatment, she will have to go back to the UK.
In the meantime, her adored pet may now end up on the street, or even dead. The foster family contacted me and said that they couldn’t keep the cat anymore as they had to travel. They handed the cat over to their neighbours. They had said that their friends are allergic to cats and despite that the neighbours kept her for three weeks. I was told if I wanted the cat, I could take her, or she’d be sent to a shelter or even put down. I have too many cats, and if I bring her home, she will be afraid of the others. Also, at this point, she is so stressed that if you try to move her she might get aggressive.
We are hoping to find a proper home for this feline. It would have to be one with no children and no pets, so the owners can give her the attention she needs to relax. If anyone is willing to adopt her, please reach out to us at info@friendsofanimalsdxb.com.
— The reader is the founder of Friends of Animals based in Dubai.
