ABU DHABI // Vets in Abu Dhabi are warning pet owners after a case of suspected torture and the ritual killing of a kitten was reported.
Little Junior was a six-week old stray kitten taken in by Patricia Assaad, from Lebanon, who regularly feeds stray cats in her community.
Ms Assaad returned from work on Sunday to find the kitten – one of a litter of three – laid out on the grass near her home with its throat slit and symbols carved into its back legs.
The incident horrified the community near Abu Dhabi City Gates.
“I was in a total state of shock,” Ms Assaad said, who works in marketing.
“I contacted the police, who arrived quickly. They too were horrified, but said there was little they could do as there were no witnesses.
“Nobody saw what happened, or anyone acting suspiciously, which is surprising as there are many windows around. We’re not sure if the kitten was taken away from the area to be attacked, then returned later.”
Ms Assaad took the still-warm body of Little Junior to the emergency Australian Veterinary Hospital in Khalifa City, who examined him.
Vets assessed the wounds and concluded that they were not inflicted by another animal.
“It looks like whoever did this was trying to write the number 10,” Ms Assaad said, describing the wound on the cat’s rear legs. “It is difficult to draw a zero with a knife but that’s what it looks like.
“It was hard to tell if [the drawing] had been done before or after the cat was killed. This is the sort of thing you read about, but you never think it will happen to your pet.”
Dr Susan Aylott, a vet and volunteer with Animal Welfare Abu Dhabi, said pet owners should keep a close eye on their animals.
“Someone who goes to such barbaric lengths to cause pain and suffering like this needs to be stopped,” she said.
Resident Mohamad Arabe, from Lebanon, said he found the cat “with its throat slit and part of its neck missing”.
“Something like that is just cruel and forbidden. It was a horrific scene, and this is the first time something like this happens in the compound. I am, of course, worried about something like that happening again.”
He said he would not be letting his own cat outside by himself.
“I live in a villa, so if the cat wants to go outside, he goes out with me but with a leash,” he said.
The attack had the hallmarks of a number of mutilations on animals across London this year.
The decapitation of cats began in Croydon, south London, and continued for months, spreading across the English counties of Kent and Surrey. Fifty cases were reported.
nwebster@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Dana Moukhallati
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The biog
Family: Parents and four sisters
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing at American University of Sharjah
A self-confessed foodie, she enjoys trying out new cuisines, her current favourite is the poke superfood bowls
Likes reading: autobiographies and fiction
Favourite holiday destination: Italy
Posts information about challenges, events, runs in other emirates on the group's Instagram account @Anagowrunning
Has created a database of Emirati and GCC sportspeople on Instagram @abeermk, highlight: Athletes
Apart from training, also talks to women about nutrition, healthy lifestyle, diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure
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Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
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School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
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Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
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Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
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The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
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If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
