Cat lovers in Indian-controlled Kashmir were thrown into a tizzy. Panic spread and local veterinarians reported a surge in pet owners coming in with their cats — all because of posts that went viral on social media.
It began with a warning in January from veterinarians in the disputed Himalayan region, where the cat population has soared over the past years, partly because of stray cats roaming free and pet stores bringing in ever more costly breeds to keep up with local demand.
The vets said there has been an uptick in infections among the feline population due to lack of vaccination and mishandling of strays.
Photo: AP
What was meant to be a cautionary note was misinterpreted. Video clips and news reports started claiming that cats transmit potentially deadly infections to humans, and that cat-borne diseases could cause miscarriages.
Days later, the region’s animal husbandry department issued a statement saying there was no harm in keeping cats as pets as long as proper hygiene is maintained.
The statement did little to calm pet owners in Kashmir, where cats have been long revered in Islamic folklore for their cleanliness and considered noble and intelligent creatures.
Photo: AP
Mir Mubashir, a local businessman who lives on the outskirts of Srinagar, the region’s main city, said the posts and reports made him worried. His heart heavy, he took Liger, his Persian kitty, to her vet to make sure she was fine.
“I felt really scared,” he said.
Only after the vet’s assurances that all was well did he calm down.
Reflecting the level of concern, Altaf Gilani, the head of the main Srinagar animal hospital, said they had examined 2,594 cats in the first seven weeks of this year, compared with a total of 1,010 cats in January and February last year.
If regular deworming, vaccinations and hygiene protocols are followed, pet owners are not at risk, he said.
Keeping cats, much like raising pigeons in Kashmir, is seen as a stress buster and mood elevator in a region long plagued by conflicts.
Split between Pakistan and India, but claimed by both in its entirety, Kashmir has been subject to two harsh lockdowns, first in 2019, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration stripped the region’s semi-autonomy, and in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
More people began adopting stray cats during the lockdowns. Children were encouraged to play with them — experts called it pet therapy.
“Cats entice you to love them and you get attached once you spend time with them,” said Mujtaba Hussain, another cat owner.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
UNREST: The authorities in Turkey arrested 13 Turkish journalists in five days, deported a BBC correspondent and on Thursday arrested a reporter from Sweden Waving flags and chanting slogans, many hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators on Saturday rallied in Istanbul, Turkey, in defence of democracy after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu which sparked Turkey’s worst street unrest in more than a decade. Under a cloudless blue sky, vast crowds gathered in Maltepe on the Asian side of Turkey’s biggest city on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr celebration which started yesterday, marking the end of Ramadan. Ozgur Ozel, chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which organized the rally, said there were 2.2 million people in the crowd, but
The US government has banned US government personnel in China, as well as family members and contractors with security clearances, from any romantic or sexual relationships with Chinese citizens, The Associated Press (AP) has learned. Four people with direct knowledge of the matter told the AP about the policy, which was put into effect by departing US ambassador Nicholas Burns in January shortly before he left China. The people would speak only on condition of anonymity to discuss details of a confidential directive. Although some US agencies already had strict rules on such relationships, a blanket “nonfraternization” policy, as it is known, has
OPTIONS: Asked if one potential avenue to a third term was having J.D. Vance run for the top job and then pass the baton to him, Trump said: ‘That’s one,’ among others US President Donald Trump on Sunday that “I’m not joking” about trying to serve a third term, the clearest indication he is considering ways to breach a constitutional barrier against continuing to lead the country after his second term ends at the beginning of 2029. “There are methods which you could do it,” Trump said in a telephone interview with NBC News from Mar-a-Lago, his private club. He elaborated later to reporters on Air Force One from Florida to Washington that “I have had more people ask me to have a third term, which in a way is a fourth term
RSS