24 Oct 2006
Dubai: Cat lovers have said Sharjah has a major problem of unwanted felines - and they are planning to redouble their efforts to find homes for the luckless animals.
Muezza's Feline Friends in the emirate will soon be holding its second open day where the group hopes to re-home some of the cats currently being looked after by members until permanent homes can be found.
The organisation was started two years ago by a few members of the faculty of the American University of Sharjah and their families after several cats were dumped at the campus.
Dr Cristina Dockx, one of the group's organisers, said: "People often leave cats and dogs at the gate because they are going away for the summer or they have gone off the animal.
"People see cats and dogs on the street and they mistreat them. They see them as a nuisance. It is a problem of educating people about these animals in the street."
The group feeds cats in the university area and also regularly neuters animals so they do not produce kittens that will struggle to survive on the streets.
"If we feed the cats on the streets, it will help them to stay in better health and will keep them away from the trash," she said.
Dockx, a 35-year-old Belgian who has two cats of her own, Mango and Tamarindo, said homes were found for four of the 13 cats available at the group's first open day, which was held last month.
Another organiser Dr Kimberley Lund, who teaches at the College of Fine Arts and Design at the university, said people should stop treating animals as if they were inanimate objects without feelings.
"Animals in general face a pretty horrible existence here. Cats are treated like vegetables. To some people, the cat is just a living toy.
"It is a big problem and requires a great deal of education and concerted effort, starting with children when they are in kindergarten," said Lund, who has four cats of her own and is also fostering two felines in need of a home.
Lund helps to raise funds for the group by making designer shopping bags from cat food sachets. The elaborate bags, which are called Cats in the Bag, are made of as many as 50 packets of cat food each and sell for between Dh100 and Dh300.
"They are pretty fabulous. I have people in Canada and the United Kingdom who buy them from me," she said.
The next open day organised by Muezza's Feline Friends is being held on November 2 from 5pm to 9pm in front of the sports complex at the American University of Sharjah.
Anyone interested in helping the group or in rehoming a cat can contact Dockx at cristinadockx@yahoo.com.
Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.
