Last Updated on November 15, 2023 by Pets Feed
This sanctuary made headlines when this man, an ambulance driver also known as the “Aleppo Cat Man”, was caught feeding and caring for as many stray cats as he could. could. Now this shelter has been bombed and needs help, but Alaa is not giving up.
For months, Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel has been traveling to Kafr Nabl, a Syrian town recently hit by airstrikes, with one goal in mind: to save abandoned cats.
Before the bombardment began, many residents were able to flee to safety. Unfortunately, some domestic animals have been left stranded.
Alessandra Abidin, friend and cat lover told The Dodo:
“It is not easy to take a pet with you when you have to move quickly and take all your things with you.”
Knowing how angry people had to leave their pets, Aljaleel, sometimes referred to as the “Aleppo Catman,” decided to head to town to help.
Abidin explained that in this latest rescue at Kafr Nabl, the former pets joined with wild cats to roam the streets, forming a large colony.
Abidin said:
“Some of them approached the team. They probably knew we had brought food. They were easy to catch. We set up trap cages for others with food inside to attract them. It is not a quick job. We have to wait nearby to drop the cage doors. “
So far, the team has rescued around 83 cats and kittens, which have been relocated to Ernesto’s Sanctuary.
“They can have three meals a day, access to fresh water and personal care at Ernesto’s Sanctuary,” Abidin said. “They should settle in pretty quickly.”
The team will return to Kafr Nabl every day to save more cats, despite the danger, Abidin said.
This is not the first time that Aljaleel’s has put his life on the line for animals. In 2016, Aljaleel, who also works as an ambulance driver, became famous for staying in the Syrian war zone to feed and rescue abandoned cats. The following year, Aljaleel opened an official cat sanctuary so that these displaced cats would once again have a home. He called the sanctuary the house of cats Ernesto, which he named after his own cat Ernesto.
This has not been easy. In November 2017, the Ernesto Cat House was destroyed in the conflict. Aljaleel and Ernesto had to flee to Turkey, but they quickly returned to Syria to reopen the shrine in a new location in Aleppo.
Since then, Aljaleel and a team of animal lovers have worked tirelessly to help as many cats as possible – as well as dogs, horses, rabbits and other animals.
“This is what we are doing,” Abidin said. “If there’s a chance we can save an animal’s life, we’ll be there.”
Aljaleel and Ernesto also take care of feeding the stray dogs in the city.
Update:
The war in Syria forced Alaa al-Jaleel, “Aleppo’s cat man,” to close his cat sanctuary in 2016 after being bombed.
It’s lunchtime for someone in Syria @theAleppoCatmen #Ernestosanctuary pic.twitter.com/L15tMTs1tr
— Ernesto’s Sanctuary for Syrian Cats (@theAleppoCatmen) February 21, 2022
After the shelling, he traveled to Idlib taking the surviving animals with him and reopened the sanctuary in a new space.
The Ernesto Sanctuary now provides shelter and food for more than a thousand animals. The name Ernesto appears in homage to the co-founder, Italian Alessandra Abidin, who teamed up with Alaa al-Jaleel to move from Aleppo to Idlib, after seeing the story of the “cat man” in the newspapers and decided to help him. Alessandra also created the Sanctuary’s Facebook page, which quickly became popular with over 120,000 subscribers.
“Most animals are injured because of the war and because their owners had to abandon them when they left their homes. We gave them shelter, medical care and food, ”said Mohamad Wattar, the current head of the shelter, quoted by Reuters.
To help save more cats and kittens in war-ravaged Syria, you can donate to the Ernesto Sanctuary.
Alaa says:
“Our Prophet Muhammad was good to everyone. He spoke with all Christians and Jews. I believe in Moses, Jesus and Muhammad because they all had a noble purpose. I’m a Muslim, but I’m not a fanatic. I simply take from religion everything that is good and that I can learn from.”
Images: Twitter / Ernesto’s Sanctuary for Syrian Cats
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