By Isabel Ovalle
Many cats in Qatar are in urgent need of a new home. These kittens are looking for a family that can offer them a commitment for life.
This is what led a group of volunteers of different nationalities to come together in 2010 and form Cats in Qatar (CIQ), with the objective of helping homeless and abandoned cats and kittens.
Members of CIQ donate their time and resources and foster felines in their own homes, given that they don’t have a dedicated shelter for this purpose. The volunteers juggle their personal lives with work in CIQ for the sake of the cats.
An additional challenge is raising money to keep up their work for their feline friends. Gill Shurey, the fundraiser for the non-profit organisation, said the expenses of CIQ in 2012, covering only veterinary care and cat food, totalled QR120,000. This figure excludes the cost of vaccines and the microchips that all felines treated by CIQ wear. These add another QR4,000 to the annual bill.
To pay for these expenses the group organises bazaars every third Saturday at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA). It also sells calendars and greeting cards and accepts donations to cover operating costs.
During the summer, CIQ distributed envelopes in veterinary clinics to accept contributions, asking for a minimum of QR20. The campaign was so successful that QR14,000 were collected in the first week. This amount helped cover the cost of getting cats “back on their feet” with vaccines and chips, which comes to QR1,000 per animal.
Shurey added that they also had monthly open days (the next one is January 26) to let people know what they do. The open days take place at three local veterinary clinics: Al Tamimi Clinic, The Veterinary Surgery (Doha Vets), and Qatar Veterinary Center.
Back in 2006, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs launched a project to limit the number of stray cats on the streets of Qatar. Civic workers catch felines with automatic nets. The cats undergo a health check and those found sick are culled.
Studies have revealed that cats can be affected by some 200 diseases, most of which can be transmitted to humans. Also, experts estimate that two stray felines can breed up to 500,000 cats.
The group promotes Trap Neuter Return (TNR) for street cats. According to CIQ, since the Qatar Cat Coalition and the Animal Resource Department introduced the TNR programme in 2006, more than 35,000 cats have been spayed or neutered.
Cats in Qatar collaborates with the government and fosters some of the cats from the TNR programme. On its website, the group says: “We don’t have the resources to take every sick/injured/homeless kitten or cat in Doha no matter how sad or desperate the story. We rescue when we can, provide support where we can, we help out where we can, but please understand we just can’t do it all.”
However, even with their limited resources and time, the CIQ volunteers take care of an average of 70 to 80 cats at a time. To help other people develop their own cat rescue set-up, the organisation offers equipment and advice.
In 2012, CIQ found a home for 109 cats, while another 83 are in waiting. People who want to adopt or foster a feline must make an adoption enquiry through catsinqatar.com. “With this system, we want to guarantee that the cat is kept safe, indoor, and taken with its owners when they leave the country,” explained Shurey.
Shurey now has 12 cats staying with her, and she said “each one has different character. They are loving, and without them the house feels very empty; they bring peace to the home.” Sadly, despite the chips and other precautions, numerous cats are still abandoned in Qatar.
Over 1,200 people receive the monthly newsletter of CIQ and many of them are volunteers and offer their homes to foster cats until they find a permanent owner. Cats in Qatar has more than 6,000 followers on its Facebook page.
To filter the potential adopters, CIQ asks people about their past experience with pets, whether they currently have any pets, and if they are spayed or neutered. Potential owners must also inform it about their accommodation and the number of people living in the house.
