I've found 7 cute kittens under a car near the garbage bin in the street just outside our apartment the other day. They turned out to be the kittens of the tabby cat owned by the Indonesian expats from the second floor. The cat regularly waits for us every morning outside the door of our apartment for weeks now, seemingly begging for food, and ever since I see to it that I gave her some cat food whenever I see her by the main door. I even gave her a bath once and shampooed her because she stank and looked underfed. We knew that she has kittens somewhere in the building judging by her rows of teats that sagged, but we never thought that we will see those kittens out in the street and under a flat-tired car.
We talked to the owner of the cats and they said they threw those kittens because there were too many of them and that they didn't have any choice but to evict them out of their apartment. They could have kept them outside of their apartment or let them roam freely through flights of stairs but the building watchman does not see it possible for hygienic reason. The owners however took back one of the kittens to be with its mother. So after 2 days of feeding those kittens under the car, we decided to take them all inside our apartment and take care of them 'till they get a little bigger. Seeing them lying on a very hot surface, their tongues sticking out due to extreme heat and thirst is just not right. Unfortunately, when we were scampering around to catch them, one of the kittens had run like hell it thought it just had a great escape. And we lost sight of it, three days now into our search and rescue episode to no avail, it must have gone with other bigger alley cats.
Just this afternoon after work, we bought them a few cans of cat foods and a small litter box. I've already bathed and blow-dried all of them and now they are all clean, smelling good and comfortable like little kings and queens. Just a few hours ago before I decided to write this blog, they were all playing like crazy just like normal healthy kittens do and I don't think they have any idea of what's going on or what kind of future will they have. So sad.
I can't help but wonder how come here in Saudi Arabia they don't have any government programs/agencies or NGOs that take care of these poor creatures? Seeing them on the street every single day, some flattened and buried under car tires, really breaks my heart. If only I'm as rich as some people here, I would probably buy a patch of land somewhere and rescue all the cats that I see on the street and educate pet owners to neuter or spay their cats, and be responsible pet owners. They should think of these animals as integral part of their families and not as toys like dolls and toy robots that they give to their kids. These are living animals that need TLC. Feline population in Saudi Arabia has soared unabated in the streets because of lack of education on the part of pet owners who readily dump them in the streets when confronted with incapabilities to keep them any longer. Lack of compassion is also obvious here for people or citizens who could have thought of something humane for these animals.
Now we have a total of 8 rescued cats (3 of which came from our previous rescues) in our small apartment and they are taking a huge bite out of our monthly salary. Cat foods and cat litters are getting more expensive here in Saudi Arabia. And if anyone out there happens to be an animal lover especially those who live in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, we would appreciate it much if you could share a little in any way you can for us to be able to keep them much longer. Please free to leave your comment below if the predicament of these cute cats moves you. And if it appeals to you that adopting one of them does not bother you that much, feel free to do so. You may send a word by my email at pepecabrera1972@yahoo.com. God bless you all!
