Dubai: Restaurants will be fined if stray cats are found on their premises, the civic body has said.

Dubai: Municipality’s reactions were made after residents in number of areas including Al Rashidiya, Al Rigga and Al Dhiyafa complained about stray cats roaming outdoor food outlets, as they pose a health and safety hazard.

“Customers faced with stray cats in restaurants should notify the municipality immediately and an inspector will be responsible in assessing the situation. If he finds that the establishment has committed health and safety offences, they will be fined a minimum of Dh500,” said Hashim Al Awadi, Head of Veterinary Services Section at Dubai Municipality.

However, he stressed that the restaurant’s management is not responsible if stray cats are not in the restaurant, but outdoors near the street, and that one of the main ways to combat the problem would then be for customers to refrain from feeding the animals. “Customers should stop feeding stray cats as it encourages them to re-visit the establishment for food,” he said.

“We have a team dedicated to control stray animals, mostly cats, and they carry out a comprehensive programme that includes neutering them and then releasing them back into the areas they were collected,” he said, adding that stray animals are also vaccinated against a number of diseases.

Residents are encouraged to contact Dubai Municipality’s hotline number 800 900 to report stray animals in restaurants.

A mother of two, Maria Cristina Mercado, resorted to having her three-year-old son vaccinated for rabies after he was bitten by a stray cat in Al Rashidiya last week.

“We did not give the cats anything to eat but they kept on walking near the chairs. The moment my son got up, the cat bit him. I had a relative that died of rabies after being bitten by a puppy, and the life of my son was at risk because of the restaurant’s negligence,” she said.

“I filed a complaint to the municipality but the inspector explained that there was nothing he could do. The cats were not inside the kitchen, or anywhere indoors, and since they were near the street’s pavement, the inspector was not able to make the restaurant responsible for my child’s accident,” she added.