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Pest Control is NOT the answer

Situation with street cats is a pitiful one and most people ignore it because
they don’t care for animals,
they don’t want the effort or,
because they feel they would be “interfering”.

At present, cats are living, breeding, scavenging and dying on the streets like vermin. This is an un-natural situation for these animals. The domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) relies on people, a wild cat in a “natural” setting would hunt vermin or small birds – not scavenge dumpster trash.

When their numbers get too many, around a street dumpster or in a garden or compound, Pest Control are called to “remove” them. The fact is there is no place safe to remove them to!

When Drs Ingrid and Lana started working with the street cats they took the time to speak directly with many pest control workers to discover the truth about the fate of these cats. They spoke honestly because they didn't fear any retribution - explaining that some cats are left outside palaces or restaurants in the hope they will find shelter and food. But there are already cats in these areas and if they are not fought, or frightened off, Pest Control quickly returns to these places to “remove them” again. Such animals are constantly stressed from over crowding, weak from competing for food, scavenging scraps of trash, often injured from the trapping or the fighting when they are dumped in new territories. Some are dumped on the highways - to gamble their lives in the traffic - or in the desert - were, without food, water or shelter they will usually die or be killed by wadi dogs.

Some Pest Control staff have also admitted to drowning cats in the traps, clubbing them, poisoning them – because there was simply nowhere left to dump them!

Trapping and dumping is pointless and inhumane.
You can read more details about the factors which cause street cat problems at www.CompoundCats.com but in short, there is a lack of responsibility from cat owners, poor street hygiene, uncontrolled animal breeding and random cat culling – as mentioned above – which is inappropriate and ineffective.

 

Reality: pest control trap victims

 

So what is the solution?

We are starting Trap-Neuter-Return programmes in certain sponsored areas.
Neutering the cats is the most effective way to ease the public health concerns of so many unwanted stray and free-roaming animals – without harming or killing them.

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen has commented,
“If there are too many cats and they are a nuisance, if neutering will not harm them, then there is nothing wrong with it, because this is better than killing them after they have been created.”
Fataawa Islamiyyah, 4/448

In addition “problem” cat behaviours, such as spraying, loud calls and fighting are also largely eliminated. In fact, neutered cats can live longer, healthier lives because there is less physical stress and they are less likely to contract diseases transmitted through mating and fighting. They become more relaxed and sociable.

Stop Pest Control – Control Cats with Compassion - NOW!

They need you!
Even if you can only afford the time to neuter the one or two cats begging at you door step, that would be the single most helpful thing you can do for their wellbeing and to ensure their acceptance in the community.

And we can help you!
We can offer the traps and tricks to catch them and the veterinary services to fix them.
ask us about it now! help@openpaws.org

www.CompoundCats.com

We want everyone to understand cats - including street cats - better.
The Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) said there is reward for kindness to all living things and there is no excuse to continue harming these animals.

The information website www.CompoundCats.com provides a more complete discussion of the causes of the street cat overpopulation problems here and a page dedicated to explaining a management plan for the solutions. Several private residential compounds run this programme and have seen a striking reduction in street cat numbers and their nuisance behaviours. Does pest control work on your compound?

Elsewhere in the Middle East, several NGOs and government programmes operate T-N-R and animal sterilisation work to control stray animals humanely - why not Saudi?