Archives for February 2012

Too much baby kitty.

During our first year in Abu Dhabi, Molly and I became involved with Feline Friends, a group that aims to aid and reduce the stray cat population. Stray kitties are a major problem here. Not so much because they are bothersome to people, but because they are sick, starving, and suffering on the street.

We mainly volunteered by trapping female cats for sterilization. We called our efforts: “Operation Too Much Baby Kitty.” Did you know that by spaying one female cat you are preventing at least 27 kittens from being born? (or 45 at the most!)* To us, it felt like a very worthy cause.

We continued to trap cats during the beginning of our second year. Unfortunately, at a certain point our task shifted away from trapping for sterilization purposes and towards trapping to euthanize. It’s really really difficult to trap an injured and dying cat. It’s like they know what you are up to. After too many emotional outings laying on our bellies in dirty parking lots and trying to drag cats from under cars, we had to say enough. Shortly thereafter the trapping to sterilize procedures changed and we were no longer able to participate.

Volunteering with Feline Friends definitely provided Molly and I with some lasting memories. She can even give me directions based on “where we trapped that cat, that one time.”

We affectionately called this one “Slutty Kitty.” She had A LOT of babies before we could get to her.

If you’re having any cat related issues, please contact Feline Friends. Especially before you resort to dumping your kitty on the street.

If you’re curious about how cat trapping works, I wrote a blog post for FF a few years ago here.

xo, jill

*I asked a few vets and did the math myself. It’s more detailed in my FF post.

Thanks to Sarah for the photos.