Strays–Cats and Dogs

If you can house a pet, please take one from off the street!!

It’s a sad reality, but Saudi is no different in it’s proliferation of street cats and dogs, or strays. So many cats and dogs are dumped or left uncared for outside buildings or neighborhoods. The extreme heat here is so hard on these poor animals. You’ll see them sleeping near doorways where they try to capture some A/C to cool down.

It is extremely common for stray cats to wander into a compound or be left behind when residents leave. Some have temporarily been housed and are back out on the street. Because of quarantine measures in certain countries it may be difficult to fly your cat/dog out. Our compound has a catch and release program with a volunteer resident. What is a catch and release program? If a new cat wanders into our compound, it is caught and brought to a veterinarian who will give the necessary shots and spay or neuter the animal. It is funded by volunteer funds from residents on compound.

Currently we have a stray cat we’ve named “Daisy” who is a sweet black/brown cat. She was discovered near our villa in February as a young cat and we’ve been taking care of her outside, providing food and water three times a day, as well as companionship. Since we have allergies to cats we unfortunately cannot properly adopt her into our home. She’s had a litter of kittens that met various fates on the street. In the midst of trying to catch her to bring her to veterinarian, while she’s already on social media looking for a home.

There are people who’ve lived here for awhile that look for animals on the street in need of help. There is always a need for folks to foster temporarily, a rescued animal. This is one way you can make a difference while you are here.