Bin there, bin cat (yes, I suck at playing on words)

I want a cat. Just 1. I am still 'miskeen' to some.

We adopted (my family) quite a few when we were in Oman before, all wild bin cats: one so covered in hardened paint he couldn't move, another we called 'baisa' we stopped some Indian and Omani kids from kicking, one came from the garbage at McD's that to this day loves french fries, and another was Darth Vader of Ras Al Hamra ill repute. Baisa was poisoned before I went home the first time.

Here is the story of many Ras Al Hamra 'bin cats' like Darth Vader.

Expats like pets. They have them, but it is very expensive to take them home, so some of them let these pet store cats go outside. They interbreed with local variant of cat. We get a cat overpopulation problem (not caused by expats). It was there before US Oman. Anyways, that isn't the real point of my post. We already know there is an animal overpopulation problem with dogs and cats and little to no rescue facilities for them.

Moving on. Some expats think that maybe they'll drop their cats off in an area frequented by other expats in the hope their pet will seduce some other to take it home and love it. PDO club in Ras Al Hamra is one such place where pets are dropped.

Darth Vader was one such cat. But no one took him and loved him. Him being used to people, he immediately went to snuggle up to a group of Arab teeneage guys. One of them kicked Darth Vader's face in. His nose was crushed. I named him Darth Vader because when he breathes, he sounds like the movie "Star Wars" character.

It took me months of feeding him to get him to trust me. He doesn't like most people, and is afraid of abayas and dishdashas, even mine and my Omani friends who like cats. Which leads me to guess who hurt him the most.

Anyways, expats, I'm sure Darth Vader was a lovely cat with no nasal issues. Take your pets home with you or find them a home. Don't abandon them once you take them in. And don't buy them from pet stores. Take in an orphan one or someone else's pet. the boards at PDO and Al Fair always have expats looking for someone to coddle their baby.

Don't be a jerk.