This page is about our rescue in Egypt and not 'Safe Haven Egypt USA'
Safe Haven Egypt offers cats up for adoption who are rescued from the streets of Cairo.
That also means they do not get the best start in life from a medical and health point of view. The eat and drink what they can find. And they can not be picky about that.
When they enter Haven some cats look fine, some have broken bones or infections. – And some come with hidden problems.
New arrivals at Haven get the full medical treatment SHE can offer. A treatment that is of high standing for local norms.
Nevertheless that level of care is likely lower then those typically available in the countries where our cats travel to.
An Egyptian veterinarian in most cases aspired to become a human physician. People want to become a human physician because it pays better and is prestigious. But if that does not work out they become a veterinarian. – This does result in vets who do not had ‘a calling’ to become a vet.
Safe Haven Egypt uses the best veterinarians we can find. We work with several veterinarians and routinely asks options about cases at multiple vets for the same case.
Also know that access to medical equipment and the possibility to do tests is also limited compared to the options veterinarians in Western country’s have access to.
When we think it is needed we do order blood work. And sometimes x-ray photos and get an ecohography done. – But this can only be done with restrained due to the associated costs.
There is a reason that when Western visitors come over to visit Haven they typically bring a lot of cat supplies with them. Some things we can not get locally or at extremely inflated prices.
New cats that enter Haven are kept in quarantine. They get examined, they get vaccinated. They are de-wormed. They are de-fleaed.
We divide them is several groups who live together. While still large we try to make those groups a small as possible. When a cat has an adopter it goes to a special small living group for cats that have adopters and are under increased scrutiny.
When we notice a cat has a problem we inform the adoption candidate. We do what we can to treat it. We do not send a cat that is sick knowingly to the adopter. If there is a health issue the cat does not fly. – Even if the adopter wishes that.
We do what we can to keep our cats as healthy as possible.
Why this explanation?
Because we want to be clear about this. And we are. – Every adopter gets to sign the adoption contract. – See page 2, top section.
But because we wish to be even more explicitly clear about this:
- SHE cats are adopted in the state they arrive
- If a cat arrives ill then we did not knew about that. – Even if you would think someone should have noticed it. We do not claim that we do not make mistakes. If so know that this was not deliberate and we regret this.
- The adopter is responsible for the medical costs after adoption
Know that the stress of their journey cannot be underestimated. Things that were not present when the cat was cleared to leave Cairo can and do materialize as a result of the stress of the journey.
Or, as the result of exposure to different allergens, different detergents, different food, different litter, different weather conditions.
Know that it is typical that a SHE cat after arriving can behave a bit sick like sneezing due to the journey and change of climate.
At the end it all comes down to; We do the best we can – and that’s all we can do. – Please be aware of this.
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