It was early evening and I was among a group of people waiting in a car park near London’s Heathrow Airport for a very special delivery to arrive from the UAE.
Amid much expectation, a white van eventually pulled in and its rear doors opened to reveal the shipments that we were here to collect: multiple plastic crates, each containing one or two cats.
The driver called out the name of my feline air freight, Sukkar, the Arabic word for sugar, a one-year-old former street cat who had used up several of his nine lives in his short but turbulent existence.
Thanks to much veterinary care organised by his rescuer, Sukkar had overcome an infection of an often-fatal condition called feline infectious peritonitis, and because of gum inflammation he had most of this teeth removed.
He was the only surviving cat from a litter of at least three, with both of his brothers having fallen ill and disappeared from the streets.
Later that evening, after reaching my house in eastern England, I opened the crate and Sukkar gingerly crept out into his new home.
Jet-setting pets
A good-natured tabby and white cat – a colour combination common among the UAE’s strays – he was one of 13 cats who that day flew on an Etihad service from Abu Dhabi to London.
Each year the number of former street cats from the UAE adopted overseas is thought to run into the hundreds at least, with many travelling to the UK, Germany and even the US.
Adoptions abroad may offer stability for former stray animals who have often known only illness or injury on the streets.
Aileen Velazquez, an Ajman resident who has been rescuing and rehoming stray cats for many years, said that adopting abroad was often “a more viable solution” than trying to find homes in the UAE.
In many foreign countries there are fewer stray cats, she said, which “increases the chances” of UAE cats finding people who will welcome them into their homes.
Also, she said that cats adopted in the UAE are sometimes returned to rescuers or passed on to friends because when expatriates leave the country, they often do not take cats with them.
“Finding homes for disabled cats in the UAE is particularly challenging, as many residents are temporary and may hesitate to take on such responsibilities,” she said.
“Facilitating the relocation of these cats to where they can be better cared for and have better adoption prospects seems like a compassionate and logical solution.”
A crucial lifeline
Fawaz Kanaan, a Syrian events organiser in Dubai who has been rehoming stray cats for many years, said that some cats rescued from the streets were pets that had been dumped.
He said that people often found that they could not cover vet fees or day-to-day costs of pet ownership and so discarded their cats, with many turning up in local parks.
Another issue highlighted by rescuers is that when expatriates return to their home countries, they may stay with family or rent and so be unable to have their cat living with them. As a result, the pet may end up on the streets when the owner leaves the UAE.
“Every day we see new cats,” Mr Kanaan said. “Most are really good breeds. They’re clean and healthy. Obviously, they’re dumped cats.”
Other street cats, like Sukkar, are born on the streets to stray mothers.
A key problem, said Mr Kanaan, who has lived in the UAE for 25 years, is that many rescuers “are full” with cats and cannot take any more.
“I’m fostering 12 cats on top of my own four cats,” he said. “It’s hard to rehome one cat. It’s really, really difficult. That’s why everyone focuses on adopting abroad.”
Specialist relocation companies can organise travel for cats going abroad, and in some destination countries pet taxi services deliver animals to their new home.
But adopting abroad is not necessarily cheap. Ms Velazquez said that the price of relocation – which can run into thousands of dirhams – put off some potential adopters, although rescuers sometimes raised funds to cover most of the costs.
To reduce costs, rescuers may make arrangements themselves, although this typically requires finding a “flight buddy”, a passenger on the same flight as the cat, who assists with the travel logistics. Some airlines allow cats to travel in the passenger cabin as carry-on baggage.
“We arrange the paperwork 21 days before, to ensure they get the rabies vaccination,” Mr Kanaan said. “They will get a health certificate and check the vaccination is up to date, and scan the microchip to ensure the cat is not lost or stolen.
“I know how to manage it. Doing the paperwork, it’s easy. Finding a flight buddy at a certain time is the difficult thing.”
Mr Kanaan estimates that nearly 100 cats that he has rescued have been adopted abroad, with more than 30 travelling to the Netherlands alone. Others have gone to countries including Germany, the US, Russia and Switzerland.
Home support
While many cats from the UAE are adopted abroad, significant numbers do find homes in the Emirates, including with individuals who have rescued the cat from the streets themselves.
Meanwhile, a government-backed animal welfare programme launched in Abu Dhabi last year is calling on volunteers to sign up online to help at feeding stations at designated areas across the emirate.
If someone finds a stray that they would like to adopt, Mr Kanaan said an essential first step is to take the cat to a vet to check for a microchip, which could indicate if the animal already has an owner.
“The vets all have the same system,” he said. “If it’s a lost cat, the owner will come and pick it up … If it doesn’t have a microchip, it’s 100 per cent a stray.”
If there is no microchip, the vet will be able to insert one, give the required vaccinations, deworm the cat and protect it from fleas.
While rescuing a stray can be rewarding for both the cat and the new owner, Mr Kanaan said that taking on a feline was not to be taken lightly, describing it as like “having a baby”.
“Once you have it in your home, you’re responsible until the end of time,” he said. “Every cat will get sick one day, especially if it’s been on the streets and has a disease that doesn’t show up. People should be committed to having an animal until the last day of its life.”
