THE DJ ON TRACK TO SAVE DUBAI’S STRAY CATS AND END THE PROBLEM OF FELINE HOMELESSNESS
▶ Animal welfare champion Fawaz Kanaan tells Patrick Ryan of the plight of the city’s abandoned pets
Arock DJ by night, Fawaz Kanaan swaps laying down beats for saving cats from the streets by day.
And finding new homes for an army of feline friends is music to the ears of the animal welfare champion.
The Syrian has spent 18 years dedicated to rescuing Dubai’s stray cats.
Mr Kanaan, 38, who works as an events manager as well, has set up his own group – Save Dubai Stray Cats – to highlight the plight of needy animals.
The group has more than 5,000 followers on Facebook.
The number of stray cats on the streets is an issue in the emirate and remains one of the most common complaints received by Dubai Municipality.
While for some the many cats roaming the streets may be a nuisance, Mr Kanaan is eager to give them a better future.
“I started feeding stray cats in 2001 when I saw loads of them around my building,” he said.
“I quickly realised that many of them were sick and urgently needed treatment or they wouldn’t survive.”
Mr Kanaan began taking them to veterinarians and gave them a place to stay.
He has issued a plea to members of the public to do the same – or the issue of unhealthy strays will never be resolved.
“There are so many strays here because there is no population control like in other countries,” he said.
“There is a trap-neuter-return system available but here you have to pay for it in clinics, unlike in other parts of the world where it is free.”
Mr Kanaan said he was in constant discussion with Dubai Municipality about being able to provide free care for stray cats, but that no system had yet been adopted.
“I am an animal lover in general. When I came here for the first time though I couldn’t help but be moved by the sheer number of stray cats on the streets.
“It is not easy for animals to survive here in such extreme heat without access to food and water.”
Mr Kanaan says he rescues two to three cats a day.
“I have three pets of my own and currently I am fostering another four cats. They were abandoned on the street by their previous owners.”
He said the biggest challenge he faced was finding new homes for the stray cats.
“One in three abandoned cats can be adopted,” he said.
“There are members of the Save Dubai Stray Cats group who are currently fostering cats until they can be adopted.
“They are keeping them in their bathrooms or other separate rooms in their homes.”
His advice to anyone considering adopting a cat is to make sure it is fully vaccinated and microchipped.
“Once the cat has been chipped it means the vet has all the details of the owner and can contact them.”
He said there were many reasons why people abandoned their cats in Dubai.
“Some people are not that serious about adopting cats and they have an attitude of ‘I just want to try this animal out for a few months to see how it goes’.
“Sometimes when a cat gets a bit older their owners don’t see them as cute kittens any more so they abandon them.
“Another major reason is that they aren’t prepared to pay for medical treatment if the animal gets ill, or if they are leaving the country and don’t want to pay to transport the cat as well, they just dump them on the streets.”
Mr Kanaan said that his group had helped to transport 12 stray cats from the streets of Dubai to other countries this year. Those countries included Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Poland and the US. He urged the public to heed one other piece of advice as well.
“If someone sees a sick cat on the street and doesn’t know what to do, just pick it up and take it to a vet clinic,” he said.