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Mary Ann Benitez

The son and daughter-in-law of former Peregrine boss Philip Tose have called for improvements in the Government's quarantine requirements for cats after one of their pets fell ill at the Pokfulam cattery.

Investment banker Hubert Wang Tose returned to Hong Kong from Beijing with their two cats on March 29. His wife, Pascale, a former model, followed on April 4.

Their call comes after other pet owners raised concerns about quarantine facilities in the SAR.

Hubert is the son of Philip Tose - former chairman of the Peregrine Group, which crashed in January 1998 under massive debt - and socialite Jennifer Tose.

Pascale Tose said: 'My cats basically don't play with me, they are just scared most of the time when I visit them because the environment is not very safe. They are stressed the whole time they have been in quarantine.

'They have no room to exercise. Even if we let them out, there's hardly any room for them if you threw a toy to them to run. When we take them to the cage outside, there are dogs right next to that.'

The couple bought their two pure-bred Bengal cats in Britain about five years ago.

When Hubert Tose was offered a job in Beijing last year, they took the cats, named Khan and Kamal, with them.

Another job offer brought them back to the SAR - and the cats were required to undergo a four-month quarantine against rabies on their arrival last month.

Pascale Tose said the quarantine regulations should be relaxed for cats that were not native to rabies-infected countries and which met the rigid anti-rabies requirements in their home countries.

Her cats had gone through all the health procedures in Britain, including being fitted with microchips, vaccinated and certified as rabies-free in a pet passport scheme, before they were taken to Beijing, she said. 'I believe that animals coming from many countries, for example China, really do need quarantine because it is very hard to track down and monitor animals that are native of these countries.

'But my cats have come from a Category I country [Britain] and basically stopped over for nine to 10 months in a Category III country [mainland],' she said, referring to the three categories under which cats' last destinations are classified for quarantine.

Pascale Tose said her animals had been under stress since first spending two weeks at airport holding cages before being moved to the Government cat quarantine in Pokfulam.

Last week, one was put on antibiotics after developing an infected scent gland, she said.

The Toses were among five cat owners who met the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department's assistant director, Dr Leslie Sims, on April 12 to appeal for improved facilities.

A spokesman for the department said: 'We are continuing to work with the cat owners to provide them with the best possible facilities.'

The department is considering allowing the cats to be quarantined at a private facilities, he said.

It is considering additional outdoor and indoor exercise areas for the cats and has offered to convert an older dog kennel block into a temporary quarantine facility for cats.

maryann@scmp.com



Tose family joins the calls to improve quarantine for cats