Why do rescues import stray cats from abroad?

[NotDarkGothicMama]

I Googled but am still wondering why this is a good idea. A cat rescue FB page I follow has loads of adverts for people to adopt cats from the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East. Some of these rescues operate centres in the UK as well as abroad, so they're not ignorant of the situation for cats here. Page after page of rescues saying they're inundated with kittens and unneutered adults, closed to new entries until cats are adopted or they find new people willing to foster them. My three closest rescues are looking after nearly 200 cats and kittens between them and these are small independents, not Cats Protection and the RSPCA.

Every imported stray means one home fewer for cats in UK rescues. What's the benefit? Why do they do it?

Cats in these countries are born on the streets and despite all the efforts of the charities with TNR programmes, they just breed like rabbits and the population is out of control. Locals are ignorant about neutering and the feral cats spread diseases to domestic cats.

Their only hope is to appeal to tourists who may fall in love with kitties while they're on holiday and adopt some of them, they also rely heavily on donations and sponsorship.

"Adoption fee" = scam. Money for old disease infested rope.

I am sorry @powershowerforanhour but that is such an offensive thing to say. We have adopted from overseas and in no way was it a scam and nor was my cat "disease infected old rope" . He was a beautiful boy that we were proud and privileged to give a good home to.

Would rescues' efforts in those countries not be better spent on education and lobbying, rather than shipping the cats off somewhere else?

I think @NotDarkGothicMama that most rescues in the UK are not physically transporting cats in from abroad. They are usually acting as shop windows for foreign rescues, helping them to promote their cats to a wider audience.

Education and lobbying about what to whom? These cats are stuck in countries where their lives aren't valued and they are treated like vermin.

Every imported stray means one home fewer for cats in UK rescues. What's the benefit? Why do they do it?

I take the view that a cat is a cat and just because it was born outside the UK doesn’t make it less of a cat.

They all deserve a good life regardless of where they come from.

Same as any education program: start with the people who do care, build relationships with local communities and go into groups and schools.

Yes, but so do the cats in the UK who don't get a home because their potential adopters chose to adopt from abroad. They need and deserve loving homes.

I adopted from Dubai from a rescue who is trying to help hundreds of stray cats who live in terrible conditions. My two are of the native breed there, one was a street cat until 6 months, living in a big colony where food and safety was always precarious.

By adopting I gave two cats a home, and supported the rescue to help others. These people are paying for food, vet bills and flights etc out of their own pockets.

@Puppylucky and @Deargodletitgo do you mind me asking what made you choose to adopt from abroad? I was wondering if it was easier to get a specific breed as some of the cats advertised seem to be pedigree breeds, but others are cross-breeds or moggies.

I’m interested in this too. My neighbour recently asked me to get involved in a charity supporting overseas cat rescue. I - very politely - declined based on lack of time, plus already have direct debits to my local Cats Protection (where we got our boy) and another UK charity that rescues dogs so don’t want to further commit financially. But I said similar to her, that there were so many UK animals in need of help and support. She is a lovely woman but has no link to that country, and our local CP branch is bursting with cats/huge waiting list to bring cats in to care, and is desperate for volunteers.

Not cats, but I know a lady locally who has a rescue dog from Romania, partly because she didn’t meet the very strict criteria from UK rescues to adopt here. (Despite being an experienced dog owner and very well equipped to look after a dog.) The poor dog has so many behavioural issues and will probably never live a “normal life”, even after masses of support from behaviouralists, medicine for anxiety etc. I feel so heart sorry for both the lady and the dog. I’m sure there are many it works great for though.

Are UK cats any more deserving than cats from other countries?

I think not.

I actually think its a myth that UK rescues are full of kittens waiting for new homes, a few years ago I contacted a couple of rescue charities in my area to be told they didn't have any and even if they do - they set impossibly high standards, no kids, no other pets, exactly the right amount of outdoors space but pref contained in a garden and not near a road (like most houses are), but not one of these charities seems to assess your suitability as a responsible cat owner capable of making good decisions and your home actually being a loving home.

I'm saying this as someone who has spent many hours volunteering in a cat rescue, fostered cats whose owners couldn't take care of them temporarily and adopted feral and non feral rescue kittens.

It's vanity shopping again my cats brummie moggie well MY cats from Egypt 🙄

They have lower standards than the usual local rescues friend of mine had a cat rehomed (from Britain) they took him back after a year they kept his chip in their name and he because he was picked up (near his home) and taken to the vets "as a stray" they claimed him he wasn't a stray! The vet was a ten minute walk from his home! But they took him back refused to return the cat this cat was not supposed to be an indoor cat either i understand keeping the chip in their name but why take him from his home? Awful behaviour

@OneSharpFinch i don’t really use Facebook and have no “friends” on it, the only page I actually follow is our local Cats Protection branch, so it serves me allllll the sad cat stories as content if I ever do look. UK rescues seem to be brimming over with abandoned mum cats and kittens right now. Maybe just the time of year.

The ones that break my heart are older cats whose owners have passed away. Our boy would, I suspect, be fine with a second cat (our previous girl hated every other cat in the whole world, but he’s pretty chummy with next door’s two cats) but they all seem to be “only suitable as the only pet in the home” so no dice.

Our experience with CP was absolutely faultless, but I know that’s not the same for everyone. We also didn’t especially want a kitten which maybe made it smoother, our lad was one when we adopted him.

When I visited Kotar I donated money to get a cat spayed. I wouldn't rescue a cat from overseas though whilst there are so many cats already in the UK needing a loving home. I donatevto CPL.

I think these rescues are misguided, in my job i see some of the results of their 'rescues' ,inbred, birth defects ,paralysed incontinent poor souls who have had long terrifying journeys to end up having their pitiful little lives dragged out, enduring painful procedures which result in nothing as vets aren't miracle workers, then usually euthanasia eventually.
I think the much better alternative would be to leave them where they are and put the money into intensive neutering programmes.
It is impossible to solve the problem of stray animals abroad due to the culture and lack of priority by their governments , the amount of cats brought here are a drop in the ocean ,but that drop is very costly ,it doesn't make sense to me when that donated money could be utilised so much better.
That aside the risk of imported diseases are very real.
I know many will disagree with my views but i really love animals and i think by putting our emotions in front of practicalities we are doing these poor creatures a disservice.

@tsmainsqueezeI completely agree

Let’s not forget how stray dogs were put on a flight out of Afghanistan whilst people who worked for the British Government and compromised themselves and their families would be killed.

I love animals but surely humans, families and children should come first!

I agree that some of the cats that are up for rescue from abroad are very unwell and would be better off being humanely euthanised but these are in no way the majority. Most of the cats are healthy young animals (they have to be to have survived) who deserve a chance. I really resent some of the comments on this thread about vanity shopping. I adopted from the Middle East because I used to live there and saw first hand how badly these cats are treated and how tough their lives are - being a stray in the UK just doesn't compare. Posters talking about education programmes are just naive - there is no interest in animal welfare (apart from for falcons and camels) for any education programme to leverage. There isn't really even a concept of charities. The organisers of animal rescue that I have dealt with actually do prioritise TNR schemes over rescue. The animals that are put up for adoption are usually those who won't do well on the street, because they are too young, too timid or quite often, are pets that have been abandoned. I don't think there is a moral dimension to rescue that makes helping an animal from one country more or less appropriate than another. If you don't want to rescue an animal from abroad that's fine, but don't judge or sneer at someone who does.

I live in a country with a massive stray problem, and like others have said who have lived in the regions impacted, unfortunately no end of "education" will change the direction of government spending and general apathy towards animals. Where I live, we have a stray dog and cat issue that the ex pats and some locals put an immense amount of their personal money into neutering etc but it is just a drop in the ocean because animal welfare is not high on the agenda and the more "caring" locals just dump pregnant or newborn animals at the gates as they know they will then be picked up by people who have the funds and inclination to deal with it. The cats who end up in the colonies where I live are the lucky ones as they get fed, are neutered, have access to vet care and have a pretty decent life even if they don't have a permanent home. We have a group of 3 who hang out in our garden on a seemingly rotating basis which we are fine with, but they're not "ours" formally and we don't feed them. Most others are not as lucky and they lead horrible lives in a place where animal cruelty is common place and normalised.

There are so many requests on local social media from the charities that do sort of exist for people going to Europe/the Americas to transport a cat who has been adopted from overseas, because like others have said, a cat is a cat and a lot of people can't adopt from centres in the UK due to the OTT rules so I don't think they are doing "British cats" a disservice because they wouldn't be able to rehome them anyway. I know some families who take a cat each every time they go home, so there is obviously a demand for young, healthy cats, even if you have been lucky enough to have a positive experience with local rescue centres.

If they are not already doing so, I do think their money would be better spent supporting local neutering programmes, as indeed it would be here too. The kitten supply line needs to be reduced, it's a mammoth task though.

I don’t think there should be any rescues from abroad. But I also don’t think being PTS is the worst thing that can happen to an animal.

I adopt a lot, from both the UK and overseas. I also donate a lot to help animals in their own country and in the UK. But, there is little point me finding an operation required for a sick dog in Greece, if it’s going to recover and have nowhere to live afterwards? So we usually adopt the ones in the most need, who won’t get the care they need or who will simply never be homed because they are too old or too sick or too big, whatever. We’ve done it many, many times and we’ve never had any behavioural issues. My foreign dogs live very happily alongside my English rescue dogs and I don’t regret a minute of it. They have all been lovely, lovely dogs and we’ve been and still are, very lucky to have them.