MSI Press Blog

   Cats & Their People: Stories from Conflict Zones — Animal Friends Shelter and the Skaik Brothers 🥀🐾 Here is how the Skaik brothers describe their situation and their X presence: "Destroyed shelter. Displaced family. Sharing real moments from Gaza with our rescued cats."  Tamer and Samer Skaik and their families were caring for 50+ cats in a shelter they created when the bombs came to Gaza. They moved the cats when one building was bombed; they live in bombed out buildings and they go to the outside to feed the cats who always come looking for their meals--but they do not always have the means to do so without the help of kind people across the world, supporting them through the Internet and a GoFundMe site.  Their story over the past two years has been one of family and cat population displacement. Through it all, they have maintained the steadfast relief to cats -- and even an occasional dog that comes by. In spite of limited and dwindling resources, t...

In Gaza, even survival has become a daily negotiation — and the cats, once symbols of ordinary neighborhood life, now mirror the region’s fragility. Amid rubble and scarcity, they wander through bombed streets and broken courtyards, searching for food, shelter, and a human touch. Their suffering is quiet but constant, a reflection of the larger grief that surrounds them. Yet in this devastation, small sanctuaries persist — volunteers feeding, rescuing, and nursing life back into fur and bone. These shelters are acts of mercy in a place where mercy itself is endangered. To care for Gaza’s cats is to affirm that life still matters — even in places where survival feels impossible. Each rescued animal is a small act of resistance against despair, a reminder that compassion can outlast destruction. The shelters working there do more than feed and heal; they testify that mercy endures, even when everything else collapses. Below are links to organizations and volunteers who keep that mercy al...

  Following up on previous posts about the Animal Friends Shelter, we wish we could say good things are happening -- and donations do come in, that is good -- but the circumstances become more and more dire for this Gaza shelter, with one of the two shelter volunteers/staff/managers developing hepatitis (typical right now in Gaza but medical facilities are mostly blown up) and food markets and warehouses being blown up, too. Still, some food can be found; it is just becoming very, very expensive and the shelter dependent upon donations, for which they are very grateful. Praying that enough people will help for now and that complete relief will come soon. If you wish to donate directly to the shelter, it is also possible -- and safe. I have done it twice, and each time the funds were received right away. The link to donate is  PayPal.Me . The funds go directly to Sameer. If you are a cat lover, please do take the time to read the posts at the  Animal Friends Shelter  ...