Job Discussion Forums

[shebab]

Has anyone ever attempted to bring cats into Saudi? I have been "officially" told by a potential employer that entry of pets is prohibited, but I know that at least until a few years ago, it was done with permission from the Saudi Embassy.

Any insight?

[johnslat]

Dear shebab,
Cats to the Kingdom! Lordy, that'd be like coals to Newcastle. There are literally thousands of feral kitties ( poor critters ) running around all the big cities. If you get one young enough, you can train it. I actually brought a dog in back in 1980, a Shitzhu. But it required a lot of wasta to do so, despite my having a letter from the embassy. The Customs guys then couldn't have cared less about any embassy letter - don't know if it's any different now.
Regards,
John

[scot47]

I knew of one EFL instructor in Jeddah who brought his cat. Cats, unlike dogs, are seen as "clean" animals. Apparently the Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) was a great cat-lover.

My colleague armed himself with vet certificates but he did not need them at customs. Maybe best to have them. But as johnslat says there are lots of cats here already !

Supermarkets here all have cat food ( and dogfood) sections. Other accessories are easy to find at least in Jeddah, Dhahran and Riyadh. Not sure about out in the boonies.

[andrew]

I knew someone (who posts and is probably going to read this) who brought not one but 3 cats with him!

[ohman]

Finally, a topic that I actually have more than a thimble full of knowledge to weigh in on.

True, bin cats are in abundance in the Khaleej. Most of them can't be approached. Still, you will find the occasional ueber cat, the rare one who works out the math and deduces that it is in its best interest to suck up to a bi-ped or, as they say in Felinese "the openers of cans". Most of the stray cats in the gulf are feral.

Yes, I repatriated three bin cats to the Khaleej. My felines had been collected in Kuwait, they later accompanied me to the US for a year then when my Saudi opportunity presented itself, and I could find no foster homes for the arrogant hair balls, I hauled them to Saudi with me. The cost is about $150 per animal. You have to reserve the space on the plane. Phone in the exact dimensions of the cage(s).

The Saudi embassy will supply you with a form on request. You will need a USDA certified vet to sign off on their physicals--generally you'll find one keeping hours at an international airport working customs clearance. Present the USDA vet with your cats health reports. You can get the stamp the day you depart. Phone ahead of course.

While the custom official in Saudi will probably wave you through, the airlines will scrutinize the documents and have you tape them to the cages for inspection en route.

Don't fly through the UK. The airlines are reluctant to accomodate you as bringing animals into the UK, even in transit, seems to be, uh a hairy proposition at best.

If you're counting on a traditional one-for-the-road overnight in Amsterdam, forget it. It will cost a fortune to reboard them. The best you can hope for is a six hour layover which should be enough time to take in the Van Gough museum.

As for your employer--the issue probably has more to do with housing costs.

Here is how my relationship with the animals became symbiotic: My contractor had been extremely vague and weasley about housing (Mafi Mufaja). I'd asked my Saudi interviewers if I could bring the cats into the kingdom and they'd said yes. So when those ferrets who were offering me a contract said it was impossible, I countered with the truth--my Saudi employers had said it would be no problem.
It was at this point that the stoats came clean and said the housing would not be private, but would include roommates--multiples of roommates in fact. That turned me off to working for the mustelids immediately--weeks before departure. Those ermines then offered me single housing, and although I ended up in a 10 x 12 monastic cell in a row of cells resembling a chicken coop (behind a cement factory), at least I didn't have five roommates--Andrew (see above) is the person to ask about roommates from the netherworld.

Later in the year during contract renegotiation when I hit them with an ultimatum, ie. a place away from the noise and bright lights of 24-hours a day in operation cement factory, I discovered this initial stateside insubordination had been documented and it came back to haunt me.

[shebab]

Thanks for the cat advice! This potential employer is Yanbu College, and since finding all the required documention on the Saudi Embassy website, I have "diplomatically" pasted the info on a return email to Yanbu. I said that I would have no problem getting the documentation as long as they allowed me to have cats in their housing (which I assume IS private!) We'll see how "insubordinate" that request turns out to be...