Bahrain stray cats: rehab and rehome with Rescat

Like most countries in the Arabian Gulf, the Kingdom of Bahrain has a large and uncontrolled population of unwanted cats. Paradoxically, a high percentage of local cat owners buy from breeders. Most people do not understand the relationship between breeding and a high stray population, but many mistakenly believe that purebred cats are healthier and better behaved than stray cats. Some simply want to avoid the screening process required by rescuers.


Animal Welfare as a whole is a highly unregulated area in Bahrain.  As such, ‘back-yard’ breeders are common, all trying to make the most profit possible, cutting costs where they shouldn’t, often resulting in pure bred cats with lots of health, hereditary and behavioral problems. Too many of these cats are sold to owners who cannot or do not intend to cover the cat's basic needs for a lifetime. Many of these pets are then abandoned as soon as these problems emerge, become unmanageable or too expensive. The remaining percentage of bred cats are often abandoned by the breeders themselves when they fail to sell or cease to be useful to them.


Bahrain also has an alarmingly high percentage of ‘unintentional’ breeders, people who are opposed to spaying and neutering and believe it is ‘natural and healthy’ for their pets to breed. Although they do not use their cats to make a profit, they end up adding to the stray cat problem by failing to rehome the kittens or becoming unable to care for an increasing number of pets at home.  Animal hoarders almost always fall into this category of breeders. Growing in number, they represent one of the biggest problems for rescue organizations like Rescat, and public health, in the Kingdom.


Rescat is a newly founded rescue charity committed to reducing the number of unwanted, abused and neglected cats in Bahrain through education,  rehabilitation and rehoming, and CNR. Rescat's Educational program is mostly sponsored by schools and media agencies. However, the Rehabilitation and Rehoming program is fully funded by donations and fundraising events. Since Rescat rehabilitates and rehomes a large number of severely abused and special need cats abroad that are unable to find a forever home locally, its ordinary expenses are high. 


Rescat's ability to fundraise has been drastically reduced by 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic. Austerity measures have also reduced the number of monthly donations received, making it impossible to continue to cover the costs of Rescat's adoption center while paying for veterinary care for the cats. With this GoFundMe, Rescat pleads with animal lovers worldwide for financial assistance to enable their work to continue during exceptionally difficult times when more people than ever are abandoning their cats in Bahrain. The funds obtained will be used to pay Rescat’s outstanding veterinary bills. Receipts of payment will be uploaded as we pride ourselves on complete transparency.