Hi All,
I have been living in Dubai for the last 6 months with a colleague. There's a fair amount of 'street cats' out here, which are all relatively friendly and I wouldn't describe them as 'wild',
Around 3 months ago, we heard a meow coming from our pretty small back garden. The cat was a little hesitant at first, but eventually came closer so we could stroke her. We were looking after 2 dogs at the Villa as well, so she must have been pretty desperate to venture in.
We continued to feed her and as time went by and the dogs accepted her, we let her in the house. She is an extremely affectionate cat, almost to the point where she wont leave you alone. She'll happily fall asleep on your lap or next to you. She is also pretty vocal. At night we would put her back outside, but she never seemed to venture away from our Villa and was always around the next day.
We have recently moved into an apartment on the 61st floor. We couldn't bring ourselves to put the cat back on the streets, as she was extremely skinny when she first arrived and now looks pretty healthy. We put her in a cage and took her on the 45 minute drive to our new home. Probably the worse drive of my life and she cried the whole way, to be expected though.
Anyway, the first night in the apartment was terrible. She cried constantly, this wasn't a meow, it was a very loud, desperate cry. I eventually got up to try and stop her and was concerned that she didn't know where to wee or poo, but she eventually used the litter tray, but her vocals continued.
She spent about 6 hours of the day by herself in the apartment (I left the TV on for her). I have no idea how vocal she was, but there was no mess in the house and she was quiet when I got home. That night she was back to herself, asleep on our laps.
Last night was a bit better. She cried but only for 30 seconds and then would stop for a while and then would start again. We ignored her the whole time, so she would learn. This morning when we woke up, she continued to walk around the house and was crying at times, so its not our attention that she appears to crave.
Im extremely concerned that we're going to get a noise complaint and also the fact im being woken up at the moment, and I'm feeling she may always be this way. The simple answer could be that she is unhappy, but she never makes a dash for the door, she never claws to get out, she purs very loud when stroked.
Does anyone have any idea why she is so vocal? How can we stop it? She always has access to food & water and her litter tray.
If she continues this way we'll have to put her back on the streets. Dubai are strict on feral/wild cats and will just put her down if we hand her in. She has not been spayed yet or had injections, which we plan to do ASAP.
Thanks in advance.
Louis
I have been living in Dubai for the last 6 months with a colleague. There's a fair amount of 'street cats' out here, which are all relatively friendly and I wouldn't describe them as 'wild',
Around 3 months ago, we heard a meow coming from our pretty small back garden. The cat was a little hesitant at first, but eventually came closer so we could stroke her. We were looking after 2 dogs at the Villa as well, so she must have been pretty desperate to venture in.
We continued to feed her and as time went by and the dogs accepted her, we let her in the house. She is an extremely affectionate cat, almost to the point where she wont leave you alone. She'll happily fall asleep on your lap or next to you. She is also pretty vocal. At night we would put her back outside, but she never seemed to venture away from our Villa and was always around the next day.
We have recently moved into an apartment on the 61st floor. We couldn't bring ourselves to put the cat back on the streets, as she was extremely skinny when she first arrived and now looks pretty healthy. We put her in a cage and took her on the 45 minute drive to our new home. Probably the worse drive of my life and she cried the whole way, to be expected though.
Anyway, the first night in the apartment was terrible. She cried constantly, this wasn't a meow, it was a very loud, desperate cry. I eventually got up to try and stop her and was concerned that she didn't know where to wee or poo, but she eventually used the litter tray, but her vocals continued.
She spent about 6 hours of the day by herself in the apartment (I left the TV on for her). I have no idea how vocal she was, but there was no mess in the house and she was quiet when I got home. That night she was back to herself, asleep on our laps.
Last night was a bit better. She cried but only for 30 seconds and then would stop for a while and then would start again. We ignored her the whole time, so she would learn. This morning when we woke up, she continued to walk around the house and was crying at times, so its not our attention that she appears to crave.
Im extremely concerned that we're going to get a noise complaint and also the fact im being woken up at the moment, and I'm feeling she may always be this way. The simple answer could be that she is unhappy, but she never makes a dash for the door, she never claws to get out, she purs very loud when stroked.
Does anyone have any idea why she is so vocal? How can we stop it? She always has access to food & water and her litter tray.
If she continues this way we'll have to put her back on the streets. Dubai are strict on feral/wild cats and will just put her down if we hand her in. She has not been spayed yet or had injections, which we plan to do ASAP.
Thanks in advance.
Louis
