Life

Seeking safe and loving homes for cats

July 21, 2017

Amal Al-Sibai

Saudi Gazette

Cats are the second most popular pets in the world, after freshwater fish, according to Live Science. They are cute, cuddly, furry, and funny. A growing trend in Saudi Arabia is a love of kittens, taken up as pets. Who can resist that adorable face and tiny meow? However, in many cases, once the sweet kitty grows into an adult cat and starts becoming troublesome, the misbehaving cat is thrown out of the home.

Unfortunately, many cats in Jeddah are taken into families but end up abandoned, thrown in the streets, and are left to scramble for food and survival, compounding the existing problem of the already large number of stray cats.

Cat lovers in Jeddah are trying to advocate for the protection of these beautiful feline creatures and are trying to find a caring home for them.

If you were to provide a safe home for cats, how many would you be willing to take in? My daughters managed to convince me to take in two cats. I know families who have three, or four, or even five cats. I never imagined that anyone could handle more than six or seven or eight cats, until I met an amazing, kind-hearted, selfless woman who loves animals and treats them and shelters them for the sake of Allah, to protect them from harm and disease and ill treatment.

Farah Genzales-Uddin has more than 300 cats in her Jeddah home, and she provides the best of care for them. She knows the names and personalities of each and every one of them, their likes and dislikes, the special needs and medications required for the sick and injured ones. She takes them to a veterinarian and has vaccinated all 300 cats and spayed and neutered them. In her home, she has single-handedly developed a full-fledged animal shelter for cats.

How did she end up with over 300 cats to care for, and why does she do this tremendous work?

The passion for cats grew in Farah’s heart later in her life, after her only child, her son, got married and moved out of the house and adopted a cat of his own. Finding herself an empty nester and lonely, Farah figured she wanted someone to love, so she adopted a cat, Gem. Farah described Gem as a mellow cat, a picky eater, but he loved to give and receive plenty of hugs and kisses. He was the perfect companion to soothe Farah’s lonely heart.

“Because of Gem, I fell in love with all cats,” Farah said to the Saudi Gazette.

Farah recalled that whenever Gem heard the call to prayer, he would walk over and sit right beside Farah’s prayer rug, knowing that it was time for Farah to pray.

After caring so well for Gem, Farah and her husband started noticing the many stray cats outside their apartment building, scrawny looking; fishing for food in dumpsters. They were saddened by the situation of the cats in the streets. Young children would throw stones at the cats, chase them, and kick them. Appalled by the poor conditions of these starving cats, Farah and her husband began feeding the cats in their neighborhood.

“There was a mother and her kittens that we used to feed, and also some cats by the masjid in our neighborhood. More and more cats started coming to eat. My husband always had a bag of cat food in his car to feed the cats when needed. All of a sudden, we were in charge of feeding around 18 stray cats in the neighborhood,” said Farah.

Her motivation for caring for these cats stemmed from her faith; kindness to animals is highly encouraged in Islam.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said to his companions, “There is a reward (for you) in every creature with a moist liver.”

It was common in Madinah during the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that cats would freely enter homes to be fed. It was well known that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was fond of cats.

Once Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) showed up to the masjid for prayers in a robe with a torn sleeve. When the people asked about his torn garment, the Prophet (peace be upon him) replied that a cat had been sleeping soundly on the sleeve of his robe when it was time to pray. Rather than disturbing the cat, he (peace be upon him) cut the sleeve off to leave the cat asleep, undisturbed. And he (peace be upon him) went to prayer in his robe without the sleeve.

As Farah and her husband fed more cats, people in the neighborhood started complaining and were annoyed by the cats. In Farah’s opinion, people lack awareness that these cats are lovely creatures of Allah, and the cats are a trust placed upon us to be kind to and to feed them. And if the government spearheaded initiatives to treat the cats by getting them spayed and neutered, the overcrowding of sick, suffering cats could be prevented.

With the growing number of stray cats that Farah and her husband were feeding, the costs grew exponentially. To raise money to cover the expenses of feeding cats, Farah started advertising that she offered boarding for cats if their owners needed to travel. Soon enough, Farah was boarding 9 cats in her home and feeding dozens of cats in the streets. One day, Farah’s husband came home with a cat that had been hit, her hind legs dragging on the ground. Farah and her husband rushed the cat to the vet to be treated, and this cat miraculously healed and recovered. Where was this poor homeless cat to go? Farah kept her.

News spread about this big-hearted woman who cared for cats and loved cats unconditionally. Over time, people started dumping injured cats at her doorstep. Once a neighbor brought a blind kitten that he had found helpless in the street. Farah could not turn her away, so she cleaned her up, vaccinated her, and kept her.

Eventually, Farah had to move into a larger house to accommodate the cats that she rescues. Cats who are no longer wanted by their families because of allergies, moving, marriage, rough kids, or because the cats have not been spayed or neutered and start acting out, end up with Farah. Now Farah is overwhelmed with the large amount of time, effort, and expenses to care for over 300 cats.

Farah is continuously seeking families to adopt a cat, care for it, love it, and treat it as a valuable family member. Farah demands no adoption fees; she does not sell the cats. She will give cats free of charge to sincere and animal loving people who will provide a safe home for these cats. However, generous donations are always welcome. The name of her shelter is Kitty Tender Love and Care, which can be found on Facebook.

As for the two cats we have adopted from Farah, the friendly and active Lily, and the shy one-eyed Ebony, we love them and hope to keep them forever.


July 21, 2017
3480 views
HIGHLIGHTS
Life
day ago

Fans in Mumbai thrilled as Ed Sheeran sings in Punjabi

Life
day ago

David Seidler: Oscar-winning King's Speech screenwriter dies

Life
7 days ago

Japan's Hayao Miyazaki wins award for The Boy and The Heron