Dubai Municipality's stray cat drive seeks to send strong message

Dubai: Amir Nasser Hazim, a supervisor for stray animals from Dubai Municipality, along with his two team members Basheer and Ali, wait patiently on the other side of the road.

Video: Click here to watch Stray cat drive in Dubai

Their target is a stray cat cautiously making its way towards the cage that is sprinkled all over with dried fish. The feline lingers around the cage for awhile and walks off disinterested.

Disappointed by the outcome, Hazim said: "The cat is not hungry." Pointing towards the piles of garbage littered all over a congested Satwa neighbourhood, he said: "The area is a fertile ground for stray cats to survive."

The three men have been up at 7am, making rounds in their vehicle laden with half-a-dozen cages in designated areas in Deira and Bur Dubai.

By 10.30am, they returned to the Veterinary Services Section, Public Health Department, Dubai Municipality with 14 stray cats.

The civic body has launched a 'Protection Against Stray Cats' campaign on October 20 and have asked residents to call in sightings of stray cats. The first 500 callers would receive gifts.

Schedule

The campaign is scheduled to run until the end of this year and is aimed to ensure that stray cats do not pose any threat to humans living in the vicinity.

"We receive about 70 to 80 telephone calls per day on our 800900 hotline from residents complaining of nuisance created by stray cats. We cannot leave the cages unattended in areas as there is always the threat of them being stolen or sold as junk," said Hazim.

He and his team pass over the day's catch to the veterinarians at the Veterinary Service Section and proceed for the second round after a brief rest.

At the section, things start getting a little hectic after the arrival of the group of the stray cats. They are first segregated area-wise, as Deira Cats and Bur Dubai Cats.

Each caged feral or stray cat is then checked whether their ears have been nicked, or does any one of them carry a microchip or tags.

The stray cats are then grouped as healthy and young, neutered, diseased and aged. Explaining the procedures that the cats need to undergo at the section, Adil Al Tayeb Al Badri, Veterinarian Health Officer, Veterinary Section, Public Health Department at the municipality said the campaign against stray cats was launched five years ago.

"Our main target behind the campaign is to send a message across to the general public and pet lovers that if you want to keep a cat, do it the right manner. They should be brought from a licenced shop, get details on his previous owners, get it thoroughly checked by a veterinarian, get it vaccinated and then registered."

How to protect yourself from cat-related diseases:

- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and running water after touching cat faeces

- Avoid cat scratches and bites

- If you are scratched or bitten by a cat, wash the area with soap and running water right away

- Vaccinate your cat against rabies.

Cat-related diseases

Campylobacter Infection (campylobacteriosis): A bacterial disease associated with cats, dogs, and farm animals.

Cat Scratch Disease (Bartonella henselae): A bacterial disease associated with cat scratches and bites.

Coxiella burnetti Infection (Q fever): A bacterial disease occasionally associated with cats.

Cryptosporidium Infection (cryptosporidiosis): A parasitic disease associated with cats, dogs, and farm animals.

Dipylidium Infection (tapeworm): A parasitic disease associated with cats, dogs and fleas.

Hookworm Infection: A parasitic disease associated with cats, dogs and their environment.

Leptospira Infection (leptospirosis): A bacterial disease associated wild and domestic animals including cats.

Plague (Yersinia pestis) Infection: A rare bacterial disease associated with rodents and cats and fleas.

Source - Centre for Disease Control and Prevention

What is the meaning behind catching cats and reintroducing them after treatment? Isn't it better to transport these cats to places where there are no cats and where they may be of some use like in reducing the population of rats?People should also be encouraged to look after all other kinds of domesticated pets.
Mark
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: November 03, 2008, 14:43

I think this is an excellent move by Dubai municipality. I appreciate these efforts.
Bijita
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 03, 2008, 13:21

What about the stray cats in Sharjah? There are five cats or more around my building.I think Sharjah and Dubai municipalities should work together on this.
Radhika
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: November 03, 2008, 12:24

It is very sad to know that human beings have started to believe that this world belongs to them and them only. If cats and dogs were harmful, I would have been dead by now, because since i was a child, we have always had pets. There must be better ways to control the stray population.
Anjali Rebelo
Al Ain,UAE
Posted: November 03, 2008, 11:53

I wish that these cats could just be neutered and vaccinated
Angel
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 03, 2008, 11:17

When I called the toll free number that was provided for reporting stray cats, I was told that action was only taken against cats in villas! I have a number of cats roaming around our building's parking lot. Why is the municipality not taking any action against them?
Disha
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 03, 2008, 10:44

When was the last time cats spread a plague of disease?I think that the cats should be left alone, and if something has to be done about them, they should just be sprayed, vaccinated and then released wherever they were found.
John Roberts
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: November 03, 2008, 09:41

I think we really need the cats to keep the rats under control. There are lots of rats in dubai. They cause diseases too.
From a reader
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: November 03, 2008, 08:18

I thank the Dubai municipality. I will help by calling if I see any stray cats.
Janet Mckenzie
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 03, 2008, 08:12