KCA Lost Boys Abu Dhabi

Another effect of what taking our boys from us has caused.  I trapped a cat. A simple sentence you might think. It evoked an awful lot of emotion. Why am I trapping a cat? Removing our boys, their little corner of land is no longer protected. We still have the girls (obviously they are spayed and chipped, now with collars too). Other stray cats are now roaming around outside all un'tnr'd.  They took away our protection. Our boys kept the neighbourhood free of strays. Removing them has created a bigger problem, for which they were removed for.... think about that - our boys taken and a bigger problem now exists. Now our boys are the strays for someone else.  If our boys are in any position to try and get back to us, they will be fighting all the cats protecting their own territory on their way home. After a quick lesson on 'how to set a trap', the stray ginger Tom appeared. I lent in the medieval, macabre looking contraption to place a bowl of food. I was baiting. It mad...

 I'm sitting still, and feeling dizzy. Metaphorically going round in circles. No one can help us. I'm doing everything I can and it's still not enough. We are no closer to finding our boys. One municipality refers me to another, then that one refers me to the next. I'm blocked from communicating with the actual pest company that took our boys. I'm following up whenever anyone has a new suggestion. Dubai municipality were so helpful. Wish I could say the same for Abu Dhabi. I'm feeling so sad, after 10 years as a resident in Abu Dhabi, when I need help, there is no one there. I'm reaching into an abyss of hopelessness.  It's such a terrible drama stemming from dust on a car. Its an unbelievable turmoil to not be able to resolve something so trivial. Have they done something so terrible to our boys, it's worth all this hassle when they could just bloody tell us where they are, its so simple. I feel useless. Im the sort of person who finds solutions. I...

So Dave and I needed to step away for 24hrs. We have normal life stuff to 'do'. We both tried. And failed. We ended up with a group of industry professionals having a heated conversation regarding the treatment of cats and solutions. The issue with pet abandonment is huge, again, something we were not aware of 2 months ago. We are both dedicated and passionate enough to push for change. Little by little in small chunks - We have a plan 😉  We can not force change alone, and we will continue to make a noise. We need to keep the momentum going. The boys will always be our number one priority.  We are constantly reminded of the boys around the house. Their little sleeping places we always knew where to find them. It's strange how they never really made a noise, but the house seems quiet without them.  Their 1 month food supply has lasted 2 months. We are not shopping for our boys anymore. Even passing the cat food section brings it all back. Passing a vets. Passing a steet c...

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We are losely Christian. Following Christian traditions. Its nearly Christmas. I've lost track of days and dates. I'm not prepared. A decorated tree isn't the same without the boys to destroy it. The ridiculous saga of wrapping small gifts for them to put under the tree. The 'helping them' unwrap their treats. I'm sad that it does not seem like they will be back for Christmas. Sad that I lost them. I lost our cats. Did I lose them? Did I? Is this all my own fault? Is that why I'm on a crusade to save them? I am to blame.  They are street cats. Closing a door on them to keep them inside would have killed them. I just didn't know they were at risk outside. It did not cross my mind that someone would complain, for dust on their car, blame my cats and they would suffer the consequences.  Cats love to roam. To climb trees, to hunt. It's natural for them. We domesticated cats 10,000 years ago - firstly in the middle East! What happened that they should bec...

I have to say. This journey is tough. It's not an easy feat living our life through social media. Update this, reply to that, investigate here there and everywhere.  We are very organised now. We drop pins so we are not viewing the same cat, once we have identified them. I have to be creative with our content so people listen to the boys plight. A wonderful lady is voluntarily helping us with that. I know I'm upsetting people by using emotional manipulation, but I just don't know how else to make people feel sorry for the boys, and act to support them. We literally need all the support we can get. If you ever find yourself in this nightmare, be prepared. It is not for the feint hearted. Dave has a day job, and a business that has just taken off, which takes up most of his time. We do work together and he does what he can when he can. It's putting untold pressure on us both. Normal life stuff plus cat searching. Juggling tasks. Early mornings, late evenings and social me...

For some reason, I feel like everything is culminating into a grand finale. Not sure if it's my over zealous opt *** I'm broken again. Vet just called. Poor little Yaz didn't make it. His little body was ravaged by the ticks from where we found him. I wouldnt be in this broken bloody mess if they'd left our cats alone. Ignorance is bliss. Now i have to tell my friend who rescued yaz with me. Nothing like sharing the heartache! I'm so empty. Just want our boys back with us. I think it's cathartic to take on a kitten, search for the boys and keep busy. I put this together in the small hours. I'm not a poet. Our boys You found us, many years ago Your love you gave us, joyful memories to sew Now your baskets are empty,  your toys still on the floor The heartache for your loss, is so very hard to endure Taken from our lives, your lives turned upside down, Our smiles are gone now, we only wear a frown We walk the streets shouting out your name, We know no...

Our evenings are very different to how they were 2 months ago. Our lazy quiet life has been turned completely upside down.  We search for our boys, sometimes skipping dinner. One week of groceries lasted two and abit.  If you ever find yourself in this situation, evenings are the best time to search for cats. Or 3am till 6am. We walk the streets calling their name. Sometimes it feels futile, other times it feels like any moment one of them will appear. We shout Winnie. Over the road is a lovely little cat who thinks he is Winnie. Every night he runs to us. Sure he is saying I'll be winnie. Don't leave me here. It wasn't my choice. Sadly, we cant save them all. We'd really love to, we really would. What to do. What the people who did this fail to understand, is that we want our boys. We microchipped and neutered them we love them. We are financially invested in them. They are ours. They are our family.  When it's time to go to bed, my mind races. I go over what we ha...

Are we making a difference? It wasnt our plan. Im selfish. We only wanted our boys back home with us. Many people are sending us such lovely messages about us making a difference. Maybe because we are in the thick of it all we can't see the difference.  We are always busy, but looking back at yesterday, last week, last month - are we doing enough? I know what 'enough' will look like. Us with the boys. They're not here so how are we doing enough?  We are trying to reach the top top decision makers. I'm starting to believe they have done something so awful they can't tell us. Why all this trouble if they were released 40 meters from our door. (Photo is us with trapper, where winnie was supposed to have been released. Circled is our home) We should have found at least one of them, or one of them should have made their way home by now right? I feel I'm repeating myself, I'm sure I am as its the only thing going through my mind.  Along with, are they injur...

I'm  looking at this blank page wondering how to fill it. Nothing is moving. No official body has swung into action to save our boys. No great revelation on what has happened to them. I feel I'm getting deeper and deeper into nothingness. I look at our old cat squeaky and tell her I'll find him. She's missing blacky terribly and i'm now concerned for her.  Bloody cats. I'm not a cat person! I think if I keep saying it, it will be true. I don't know what to do for our boys. It's all I keep coming back to. I don't know what to do and now this blank page is being filled with not knowing what to do. I do know I will keep promoting our boys story with the hope of making a change. Thats all we can do. Keep checking lookalikes, handing out brochures and sending emails. Maybe I should have left this page blank. Our plea is falling in to the abyss,  deflected by deaf ears. I'm too frustrated with the whole situation to add any value. We will not give up.

New week. New plan. We are running out of ideas 😔  We just don't know who's door to rattle next.  Thinking we should go right back to the beginning, and start over. Remind everyone we will not give up. Insanity or desperation is setting in. I'm not sure which. I followed the van that we know took winnie. Hiding behind bins, waiting for them, so I could follow their next move. They remove pests..., and cats . Guess they were on a cockroach or rat shout.  Private detective Appleby. Report 001: no trapping observed today. My very lovely friend who I have made during this awful drama, sowed a seed in my head. The boys may have been buried somewhere... She had found three fresh mounds of sand. So insanity or desperation stepped in.  We dug. We dug in the sand. In the fresh mounds. We were looking for bones. We were even bright enough to use the chip scanner as a metal detector. We drew a little audience as insanity and desperation looked on. We left empty handed.  I...

A Personal Note I am not a religious person. I'm envious of people that have their faith for support in times of tribulation. I know worse things could happen. On the scale of things losing three cats is probably not that high. Wars, oppression, human displacement, financial crisis, fighting for rights to be recognised, independence - where does our pain measure against the bigger things this life throws at us? We feel like we are in a tornado. Sat in the eye of the storm, unaware of everyone else's chaos. Its such a selfish place to be, and for us impossible to get out of. When your own personal trauma becomes your be all and end all, your every waking thought, when every activity is a reminder. How do you get out? We need closure. We desperately need to know where our boys are, what happened to them, will we ever see them again? I am not a religious person. I am praying they are found. I am  praying the people who committed this awful deed will be held accountable on their ju...

Another day passes without any sightings of our boys 😔  It super tough looking through all these stray cats its very emotionally draining.  Found a microchiped cat with our new scanner. Ridiculously,  anyone would have thought Dave and I had won a jackpot when it bleeped. A chipped neutered cat. Would be amazing to find his family. Can't email all the vets with details because I didn't take a photo of the whole number 🤦🏼‍♀️ Hoping for the best outcome for our first find. Lots of stray cats about. 2 Winnie and 2 Blacky AND 2 Monty lookalikes. Our boys can't be in khalifa city. We're searching, many people are searching,  lots of people know their faces. One of them should have made their way back by now or been found. We have nothing 😔  We will continue our search. Losing one cat is tough, but losing 3 under these circumstances is nearly unbearable. Thinking of them all the time. Are they alive? Are the injured? Are they hungry? Are they safe? A million thoug...

Rescued a poor cat whilst out searching for our boys. Poor kitten is in such a bad way, the vet can't be sure he will survive. He is in an absolute shocking mess. God knows how long he's been suffering. These scenes are heartbreaking and unfortunately, we can not save them all.  Spending so much money on fuel and cat food, now vets bills. I had a wobble of hopelessness last night. I'm so glad we have the boys Facebook group to vent. The support network we have is amazing. Woke up feeling more positive.  Hoping that a reporter may be able to help out to promote the boys story. We wont give up.