SAUDI ARABIA: Riyadh's cats sleep on top of cars seeking respite from the Saudi heat

Saudi Arabia's cats are giving new meaning to the word 'Topcat', the name of the famous Hanna-Barbara cartoon character who is the leader of a gang of cats in New York City. And like the American cartoon character, Saudi's alley cats are concerned with the concept of 'cool', albeit in the more literal sense of the term. Faced with the sweltering Saudi Arabian heat, Riyadh's street felines have taken to resting on the tops of cars, bemusing and bewildering many of the city's residents. "It's hot. So the weather is hot but the top of the car is cool," one young observer comments. "So the cats here, they prefer the tops of cars, for the cool." Although their sale has been banned by religious police in Jeddah and the holy city of Mecca since 2006 -- condemned as a sign of un-Islamic Western habits -- Riyadh still counts around twenty-seven pet shops and a few surviving cat lovers. "This cat is very cute. I really love it, it's so sweet. I really love cats. They're very charming, they play very nicely around the house. Sometimes very naughty also, but I like cats," Indian teenager Visjwa Karkera says. Veterinary doctor Ma'moun el-Shanti of the 'Life and Nature' pet shop and clinic explains what makes Saudi cats so 'high and mighty'. "Most people don't know why cats sleep on the tops of cars. It is a general feline instinct to seek a place that makes them comfortable and is good for their well-being. Of course the temperature of the tops of cars is lower than that of the street or the pavement, especially since we live in a desert. The shortage of rain means we don't have patches of damp earth for the cats to sleep on, so they opt for the tops of cars," Dr el-Shanti says. He explains that cats can easily locate cooler environments because of their infrared vision. "The ability of cats to identify places with lower temperatures is the result of their eyesight. God blessed cats with visual abilities different to those of humans. Cats have infrared vision. This allows them to distinguish hot from cold, so they stay away from hot places and sleep in cool ones," he adds. Although pet owning is quite uncommon in the majority Muslim Arab world, it is tolerated by authorities in most countries besides Saudi Arabia and Iran. That said, it is generally accepted that the Prophet Mohammad was a cat lover, and is believed to have had a favourite pet cat called 'Muezza', meaning 'dear one'.

ITN Source | October 15, 2007

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