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Feline fans around the kingdom have a purr-fect excuse to step out of the house on Friday as Bahrain’s first ever-cat festival takes place at Adhari Park.
Meow Day 2017 will take place between 4pm-10pm and cat owners can bring their cats to enjoy a selection of toys and have their pictures taken as part of an online competition, as well as participate in cat trivia quizzes for the chance to win a number of prizes.
Veterinary clinics and pet shops will be exhibiting their discounted products and services, while a number of local artists will be there with their cat-themed designs and artwork, plus offering portraits for visitors’ moggies.
The event has been organised by Mohammed Hassan, a consultant at 1984 PR, his colleague Amy Vaya, and Puja Tiwari, the head of business development at Directions, an established events management company, in co-operation with Bahrain Rescues and several active animal rescuers.
Mohammed, 34, said: “Bahrain is special in that its small size means that its problems and challenges can be easily overcome with some creative thinking. One of the issues where we felt we could make a difference was stray and abandoned cats, so we had the idea of a festival where cat lovers could meet cats looking for homes.”
Writers and poets from Bahrain Writers’ Circle will also be present, singing praises of pussies through their poems and words, and offering cat owners custom-made stories about their cats!
There will also be a number of vendors selling merchandise, while children can get cat face painting and enjoy other activities as well.
Amy, 31, explained: “By creating an annual local event that revolves around the celebration of cats and cat culture, we hope that more people in Bahrain will get into the habit of not only owning a cat, but ensuring that they are living in the best conditions possible.
“It’s our hope that as the festival grows, the notion of cats being ‘street animals’ will cease to exist in this country, and that in time we will not see strays anymore.”
Puja, who adopted a street cat as a tiny kitten and named her Miss Cuddles thanks to her docile nature, is delighted with the public’s response so far. She said: “The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. We were worried at first, but once word got out, so many people (and their cats) have announced their plans to attend, and we are expecting a full house on the day. In fact, there is so much excitement about this event that we are already in the process of planning bigger and better things for next year’s festival!”
Cats must be registered by sending an email to meowdaybh@gmail.com. Furthermore, not all cats can come, for example, if they haven’t had their vaccinations or have not been neutered or spayed.
