Ministry: 26 cats died in viral infection outbreak at Olhu Hiyaa

Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Welfare states 26 cats died in a viral infection which broke out at Olhu Hiyaa pet care facility in Hulhumale’.

Several non-governmental organizations raised serious concerns about Olhu Hiyaa, citing that 51 cats have died in 20 days in a disease outbreak.

The organizations raised the concerns in a report released following an inspection in which they underscored that the Ministry handed over the operations of the facility to Feline Welfare Organization (FWO).

Sun sought a comment from the Ministry regarding the matter on October 9^th. The Ministry, in its response two weeks later on Friday, said some cats at the shelter died in a disease outbreak.

In this regard, the Ministry detailed that a total of 26 cats died from the disease: eight large cats and 18 small cats.

The Ministry added that the disease is likely a viral infection. Although diagnostic tests conducted through private veterinary clinics came back negative for common viral diseases, the Ministry said based on the disease progression, the closest cause of death is viral infection.

“Such types of diseases are common in shelters. This is because cats newly taken into shelters are malnourished and unvaccinated or have been impacted by a disease earlier. Despite these challenges, internationally-recognized Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are being implemented at Olhu Hiyaa animal care facility in order to prevent and control disease outbreaks,” the Ministry added.

According to the Ministry, no further deaths have been reported from October 4^th onwards since the disease outbreak was reported on September 9^th. The Ministry attributed this to a sign of the disease outbreak being brought under control.

Olhu Hiyaa was developed to address the growing stray cat population in Male’ which had given rise to public health concerns, as excrement littered the streets, especially in areas with a large number of cats, and cruelty against cats.

Olhu Hiyaa was first overseen by Male’ City Council. However, the Ministry took over the facility at the end this year’s February. The government has been under fire for failure to achieve the targeted results despite extensive expenditure on the facility.