Managers and Compound owners have a responsibility to maintain the health and saftey of the compound community. That must include the animals who live there.
Keeping pets is a responsibility, not a right, and pet owners have a responsibility to their pets' health as well as their neighbours'.
Basic animal care is not difficult or expensive.
We recommend neutering as one of the best ways to reduce disease spread and maintain a healthy, relaxed animal population; but what else should you do?
To keep you, your family and pets healthy these are the next most important points:
Vaccinations and Check-ups
There are several diseases which can be easily prevented by vaccinations. The most important is rabies as this can be passed to people and it is fatal. Read more here.
Other diseases, like cat 'flu, can be spread between pets and street cats. Most veterinarians recommend a health check and booster vaccinations each year. This protects your pet and the health of the community.
Worms and litter-hygiene
No one likes poo! Many cats who go outdoors, use the garden areas as toilet areas. While this is natural we can reduce disease spread (and smells!) by taking some precautions.
- Provide & clean outdoor litter areas in your garden and home so your cats avoid using your neighbours' gardens.
- Treat your pets with anti-parasite treatments every 3 months. Making sure that your cat (or dog) is parasite free prevents them from passing infective parasites to other pets or people.
When you leave?
If you care for an animal you are responsible for it. NEVER assume it will take care of itself when you leave.
- If you go on vacation, appoint a carer to provide food, water and check the animal daily.
- Prepare for your "exit-only" leave, well in advance. Sometimes it's quite easy and other countries require expensive quarantine procedures (which may take up to 6 months to process!). Some countries do not accept animals / pets from here at all!
Many abandoned animals don't survive.
2b. Correct Feeding for stray or feral cats.
Street cats don't need a great deal of food. Many feral cats often survive well without help from people at all. However, feeding a stray cat can be helpful; it can supplement a thin diet of rodents to keep the cat healthier, stronger - and away from the rubbish bins.
But
please be aware of the following points.
- Think Before You Start
Once you start feeding a cat, you start to become responsible for it through your actions.
- Don't feed a cat just because it's there.
- We would recommend you first check with your compound pet register / other neighbours to see if the cat is already owned. Because feeding a straying cat can deter it from trying to find it's way home.
- Feeding can upset other pets' diets and confuse them as to who should be feeding them.
- If you want to tame and adopt the cat as a pet, be aware that many feral cats will never be able to be tamed (see the section Who are these cats?).
- Don't start collecting cats. Some people love cats and want to save them all. They think providing food to an ever increasing number of cats is helping them when in fact it is a big part of the problem.
- Always Provide Cool Clean Water
This is the most important thing. Imagine living here in summer and having little access to water. While there are swimming pools around, this water is not healthy for drinking water. Dehydration is a major cause of death so always have some fresh water available.
- Don't Ever Leave Food Out or put it out when the cat's not there.
- If you feed at the same time each day they quickly learn "dinner time" and seeing them at the same time each day helps keep track of their location and health.
- Only give what can be eaten at the time. It only takes about 10min for a cat to finish a full meal so pick up the food bowl when they're finished.
- Clean up after yourself and the cat. Don't leave wet food to stain the pavement, attract bugs and start smelling out the neighbourhood. Use bowls, pick them up and wash them when you're done.
It is important because:
- The smell and mess of uneaten food is unhealthy and unsightly.
- Food bowls left out attracts other vermin, flies and bugs.
- You may start feeding one little stray and end up with five or six cats who also smell out the food - then competition for food can cause injuries and spread disease.
- It annoys your neighbours because of the mess or when their cat starts eating at your house!
- Make Arrangements When You Leave
The people who "adopt" these street cats should consider their new responsibility and the sad thing is they often don't. Many cats are too well fed when the family stay in the compound and are left hungry when they take vacation or leave. Most people have a driver, gardener or neighbour who can put out a bit of food and water when you are away. A stray who relies on a family can easily get lost wandering to find new provisions and die from thirst, exposure or misadventure.
- Be responsible.
- Follow the rules
- If you care enough to feed them, look at planning to solve the problems that cause their situation in the first place.
If you don't mind a friendly cat or two protecting your garden from other street cats and vermin, feeding correctly can be worthwhile. But, if it's not done responsibly it can cause many more problems than not feeding at all - for you, your neighbours and the cats.
3. Reduce the Street Cat Population
3a. Encourage the Adoption of stray cats.
Most of us know the benefit of having a pet cat around the house (and especially for our children) to have companionship and the rewards of caring for an animal.
Many people, or families, arrive here without their pets and then visit the pet shop to find one.
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In Islam it is actually forbidden to buy or sell cats.
Additionally, the Pets Stores in the kingdom are un-regulated.
Animals are often unhealthy, kept in tiny cages and the stores
often trade in exotic / endangered species as well!
PLEASE stay away from these places.
Any purchases supports their business practice.
Most of your pets' needs are available from genuine vet clinics and supermarkets.
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Consider the Option of Street Adoption.
If you would like a pet, consider a street cat or at least the adoption of a
pre-loved cat who has been abandoned by its previous owners.
Many of the street cats are strays or friendly community cats who would love the chance of a new home. If you know one, and want to start caring for it, them a quick vet check will reassure you of any problems that may worry you or need to be fixed. Most street cats just look a little scruffy because they don't have the shelter or time to keep clean but are actually
just as healthy as indoor cats.
Below are some adopted-street cats that live in our compound.
3b. Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) Programme
T.N.R. stands for Trap, Neuter and Return.
It is a comprehensive plan where entire feral colonies are humanely trapped, then evaluated, vaccinated, and neutered by veterinarians.
Kittens and cats, that are tame enough to be adopted, can be relocated into good homes. Any animals that are injured can be treated or, if necessary, humanely euthanized to maintain the health of the community. Other adult cats are returned to their familiar habitat to live out their natural lives.
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Pick ONE
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T.N.R. works.
- Cat populations are reduced and stabilised without repetitive dumping or killing.
- Nuisance behaviours associated with breeding, such as the yowling of females or
the spraying of toms, fighting over territory and mates are virtually eliminated.
- Disease and malnutrition are greatly reduced.
- The deaths of so many kittens every year are prevented.
- The cats live healthier, safer, and much more peaceful lives in their territories.
For further details about
how T.N.R. works and how to establish the programme in your compound visit
HERE.
3c. Prevent Re-Population
Once population expansion has been halted, all that needs to be done is prevent new, un-neutered cats from entering the compound; then you will have a stable population of known, healthy cats.
Controlling the compound boundaries is an issue for the compound management to enforce via security and maintenance staff. There are three main areas to address:
1. Prevent people dumping new cats in the compound
There is an ongoing problem with people dumping cats on, or near, residential compounds - when they are required to remove them from their own, or no longer want the animal - and this should not be tolerated. Anyone seen releasing animals into your compound should be asked to remove the animal and take responsibility for it - not dump it on someone else's door step. We all have security checks, anyone seen bringing an animal into the compound (e.g. in a car) should be questioned where / why it is being transferred.
2. Prevent residents from bringing street cats into the compound
There should be a policy that residents should not "collect" cats off the street and let them live feral in the compound. If residents wish to rescue cats off the city streets they need to be responsible for their choice and take full care of the cat, not leave it to the compound pest control, or have so many it becomes a health hazard and annoyance to others. If you want to help cats, start by volinteering to clean up your own compound with T.N.R. before adding to the problem.
3. Prevent street cat access by closing exit / entry points
Lastly, the boundaries to the compound need to be as closed as possible. With all the security barriers we have now, this has mostly been done already. But closing the last little gaps under fences or in the walls, reduces the number of street cats who can try to break into the compound area.
The two requirements to humanely achieve a stable population of compound cats are:
- Control of the animal's breeding and birth rates
- Control of the environmental boundaries.
