Qatar Travel Forum

can anyone give me advice on moving my cat to qatar from the uk??
I am due to come to qatar soon with my family to work for qp and realy dont want to leave my cat behind.

I'm familiar with Saudi Arabia, the most conservative Arab country in the region. I would guess that with luck you may be able to take the cat in a carry-on bag. If not, you should be able to drug the cat and bring it in the cargo hold. Arab sensibilities give greater leeway to cats than dogs. Dogs are never allowed in the house and are sometimes terribly treated. Cats are given kinder treatment. In general, the Arabs are not affectionate with animals, wild or domestic, except of course for horses and camels, so continue your research...good luck.

There are freight companies which specialise in moving animals around. Your airline could probably recommend one. Are you going to live in a property which allows pets? Some apartment blocks don't, for example.

I moved to Saudi Arabia nearly two months ago but left my cats with my parents. It was a hard thing to do (wish I could have left the kids instead but that was non negotiable !)I felt that for a pair of middle aged English cats (quite long haired) the weather over here was just going to be way too much and since been out here I think I was right. My cats are both happy living in retirement and have appeared to blossom without me :0( ! I would have loved to have brought them but here on the farm there are so many we appear to be in the middle of a kitten plauge!There are also no small animal vets near us (Hail) so I would worry if anything became wromg with them. I had heard it was quite easy to bring cats in and wish you goodluck and a safe trip. If you manage to bring your cat over let us know I would love to know how easy/hard it was.
Best wishes Moira

thankyou for your advice, unfortunately for me all my family are all in Ireland so I cant leave Nelson with them (im in England)I do have the same worries though as he is a black cat so will feel the heat! I will keep enquiring,thanks again.

Bit tricky that ! We have one jet black cat on the farm who does very well for himself (all the others are white/ginger or tabby) He is never about in the day time but come evening he hangs around with the gate man or the little farm shop hoping for scraps. I think cats have brains (we had a black Labradour dog who would sit in the sun till he almost fainted and had to be pulled into shade !!) and Nelson will no doubt find the coolest part of the house for daytime and party at night!Through both my cats just chilled day and night lazy little so and so's not your idea of hunting farm cats bless them.They love suburben life and are now very glad never to have to dirty thier paws in farm mud again !
Good luck in your search and your move
Moira

Your cat can't be let outside, so the heat is not really an issue. If you let the cat wander the neighborhood as people do here in the states, you will soon loose it. The cat will love the AC of your apartment.

thanks for all the information guys. As a new comer this site is fantastic for friendly advice!! regarding letting my cat out.........he dosnt do much but eat and sleep so that wont be a prob!! Im sure my move will be grand in the end, im looking forward to a new challenge!so thanks again guys.
Tracey

One more thing, is Qatar more liberal than Saudi?

Yes. I believe that, like the Bahrain and The Arab Emirates, Qatari women can drive and don't have to cover their hair or wear abayas and veils in public by law. Saudi Arabia is very conservative although some areas are more so than others. In some regions, women must wear a veil or else suffer harrassment by citizens and the law, while in the capital of Riyadh, covering the hair and wearing an abaya is sufficient. Along the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, the standards are even more relaxed. Some western women have a hard time coping with this while others adapt fairly well. Since Saudi husbands are given charge of the family by law, I generally accompanied my wife in public to ward off the crazy religious matawas. The conservative form of Islam practices in Saudi Arabia limits the legal rights of women, but that doesn't mean that women don't still exercise tremendous power within the home. My wife managed to mingle within Saudi community and learn a lot about how the culture works, and she frankly didn't mind not driving as the taxi service is excellent and cheap there. The fact that only men drive makes for some pretty aggressive traffic, something I learned to handle fairly well. Don't be afraid to go to into the Arab nations. In general, Americans and Europeans are treated very well, regardless of gender, and the wacky cultural system provides expats a constant source of amusement at private parties.

Tracey, yes, all the other Gulf States are much more liberal than Saudi Arabia, by varying degrees.

As far as a woman coping with Saudi Arabia I live on a farm about 40 mins from Hail (Northern Saudi Arabia) Dont think there are any other westerners for about 300 miles. There is a mosque on the farm and If I want to go outside the house and walk round the farm I must cover up. All the women in the village are veiled. I only cover my face in Hail souq apart from that I cover my hair and wear my Abaya everywhere else. I do dont have a problem with this and find it great mixing with the local women. My daughter and I and the family as a whole have been to several dinners and Saudi Arabian houses and have had a great time. Yes Saudi Arabia is fairly strict especially where there are few westerners but I havent found it a problem. As for not driving atuff you are so right ! I am with your wife on this one.I just let my husband risk his neck the driving is hell! Yesterday some 10 year old played chicken with us in a huge 4X4 !! In the village here most of the boys seem to drive from about aged 10 upwards ! We saw a group driving down the road shooting and air riffle at sparrows !!This causes up roar from my boys as they want to drive !! I LOVE NOT HAVING TO DRIVE !!!!!
Qatar is more liberal so have fun I do even in a not so liberal place :0)
Moira

hi all.
By the sounds of things, regarding the 'wacky laws :]' you all sound like you are enjoying the experience, being irish, im just a little worried!! bet i wont find a chapel!haha!! ive traveled most of europe,my husband has recently left the Royal British Airforce, so we are up for a new way of life........he has a bit more of an advantage on me as he served time in saudi and enjoyed it.
If you have any questions on Ireland...Im your woman!!! keep in touch and keep safe.
Tracey

Thanks Tracey
I have never been to Ireland but one day I will. I hear southern Ireland is beautiful.
To say there are no westerners for 300 miles could be wrong! Last night driving through Ha'il we saw two western looking men going into a super market !!! Maybe we are not alone !!!! The traffic was too scary to try and go and see but maybe we will see them again and try and make contact ! Thats if they were not just passing through ! On the way to what I really dont know ! :0)
Saw a whole toop of 8 kittens last night running around calf buildings wish I had a cat ! Hope all goes well with Nelson
Moira

hi battybuffalo
Ive had bad news regarding my kitty, its going to cost £2600 to ship him over not including excess handling fees, so I gotta find him a new retirement home, its killing me!
Regardin your question on ireland, its all beautiful but believe it or not, the north antrim coast is spectacular!! you really should visit if ever your travelling that way.I do have some photos of the coast if you would like them posted on here to view??

Take care and thanks for the correspondence
Tracey

Oh what a shame !! I know just how you feel I am still gutted about my cats. I hope you find him somewhere really nice and you can keep in touch ! I have found it great to be able to have little bits of news about what they are getting up to :0)
I would love some photos of Ireland you can post to my e-mail address if you want its sandyhothoofs@hotmail.com
I know they have some beautiful lakes in northern Ireland have you got any photos of those ?!
Take care and I hope all goes well with finding Nelson a retirement home!
Moira

Wow! That experience tops ours for remoteness. Riyadh is a city of two million, and so to find the farm life, one must definitely leave the city. My wife was like you. She wasn't a western missionary or women's suffrage movement leader for heaven's sake, so her objective was to blend into the society for greater learning. Basically, wherever one goes in the world, men and women share responsibilities and rights that are natural to the species. The fact that the bigger stronger half of the species can take legal dominance as well is a problem everywhere, on the other hand just as western women know well, command and control of the that stronger half often is done by a woman. In Saudi Arabia, the separation of boys and girls at around age seven or so at school is a concern. After that age, brothers and sisters can openly relate, but in general society, boys and girls are forbidden direct contact. Much homosexuality exists in Saudi Arabia because of this separation I think, and in many cases the ability to learn normal man woman loving relationships is distorted. But, in the average good families as anywhere around the world, children grow up with sensible understanding, and overall both boys and girls do as they do anywhere. As for the driving part, my wife would never want to get behind the wheel there and she's not to crazy about it here either. I actually found Saudi driving something of an amusement. After awhile, I learned to weave and wander in ways that expanded the zone of control around my vehicle. From the Saudi's I learned that the goal was never to acknowledge the other driver with a nod or a wink, and to weave around enough, over lane markers and so on, so that other's think you're crazy and unpredictable. My other favorite tactic learned there was to stay in the right lanes of the street when approaching intersections for a left hand turn. Sneak over the curb if necessary to find your way up front and park perpendicular to oncoming traffic, so that when the lights change you can easily make a u-turn or turn left. There's no sense accepting the long cue behind the lights when one can thread their way up front. As for lane markers, the Saudi logic is the same as Arabic writing. The respective tires of one's vehicle belong on the right and left sides of the dotted line.

You are so right !!!!!!!!!! The driving is the highlight of going into Ha'il ! Yesterday we saw a van parked ACROSS the line up of traffic waiting at the traffic lights ! I presume he was waiting to make a mad dash left ! Didnt see the out come shame! My husband says he has to drive like everyone else for survial!He rather likes your idea of the control zone ! I think the scary part is driving home along the dessert road You suddenly find cars coming across the central reservation ot the dual carriage in the oppersite direction to you . Aiming across you and heading for the dessert just missing a head on smash by a camels whisker !