Hardly a-mew-sing: Cats neutered without anesthesia

Many people in Saudi Arabia may consider cats as street animals. And some might invite them into their homes, especially as both human and religious values emphasize the importance of providing animals with the care they deserve.
Imagine, though, performing surgery on cats without the benefit of anesthesia.
A vet clinic for combating pests in Riyadh has been doing just that.
The clinic, operated by a private company in partnership with the secretariat of the capital, has been neutering cats without the use of anesthetics.
A source at the clinic said doctors face difficulties while performing surgeries due to the lack of anesthetics. They are forced to use local anesthesia, which does not suffice as it does not put cats to sleep.
As a result, the animals experience severe pain during the cutting and removal of organs, and some cats wake up during surgery and attack members of the medical team.
The absence of anesthetic supplies at the clinic is due to the lack of the license required to operate as a veterinary clinic, the source said.
The clinic is not considered an authority permitted to purchase anesthetic material. Doctors working at the clinic have filed complaints to the Riyadh secretariat, but were only met with indifference.
The clinic was closed down a year after it was established for having pests. The Department of Environmental Health found irregularities and an unhealthy environment at the clinic.
A veterinary specialist at the clinic, Dr. Faisal Al-Harthy, said the cats are castrated in some developed countries, but due to standards and regulations, the animals are not harmed.
During all stages of the process, the animals are treated in a humane manner. This is not the case at the local clinic, and such negligence should be addressed and ended.
According to a report prepared by one of the doctors from the clinic, a seven-member team goes out each morning to different parts of the capital to distribute traps to catch stray cats. The animals are then brought to the clinic and neutered before being released again in areas far form residences. Some cats are even injected with pesticides to test their efficacy.