MSI Press Blog

  Harmony Is Learned People who visit often comment on how peaceful our cat household is. That didn’t happen by accident. It came from deliberate effort—naming, teaching, signaling, listening, and enforcing just enough boundaries to keep everyone safe and sane. Because here’s the truth: You don’t have to be a cat dictator. But you do have to be the grown-up in the room. Harmony isn’t a passive state—it’s a practice. It’s the quiet choreography of resource placement, tone of voice, and knowing when to intervene and when to let cats sort things out themselves. It’s recognizing that each cat has a different threshold for stimulation, a different rhythm of trust, and a different way of saying “I need space.” Resource Placement by Cat Behavior Where and how you place resources—food, water, beds, litter boxes, scratchers, and toys—depends on the personalities and social habits of your cats. Shy or anxious cats do better with hidden resources in quiet corners or on elevated perch...

  Cats & Their People: Stories from Conflict Zones — Eight Cats & Mohamed (Leo died of starvation a year ago, now there eight cats, all living but in need of help.) Mohamed is an engineer is a pharmacy student in Gaza . He takes care of eight cats in his tent, and he tries to help his sister's family, whose tent is totally destroyed. Here is Mohamed's story: Mohammed is trapped in Gaza along with his family. This includes his parents, siblings, and grandmother. Despite the ceasefire, conditions in Gaza remain extremely severe. Mohammed's family urgently needs support to cover essentials like food, water, shelter, and medical care—for themselves and cats, Mimi, Momo, and Meo. Displaced in the Al-Mawasi tent encampment, they've split up as a precaution (to have surviving family members if one area is bombed).   Recent winter storms brought heavy rain and wind that collapsed their tent, soaking bedding and belongings. (Flooding in Gaza exacerbates health and safety...

   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...

  Cats & Their People: Stories from Conflict Zones — Lucy, Bella & Mohamed (Bell was killed in an airstrike in Gaza.) Mohamede is a university student, trying to help his family and especially to keep his two ill cats alive; all the kitties need right now is $140 for vet care for both of them.  Here is Mohamede's story: My name is Mohammed Al-Masri . I am 22 years old, a university student in my first semester, and part of a family of seven with no stable source of income. My father, 51, lives with a herniated disc, and my mother, 45, manages diabetes. We have two younger sisters, a brother who recently finished high school, and a middle brother who is 20. The weight of our situation is overwhelming, yet we hold onto hope. Since October 7, war has driven us from our home and forced us to displacement—ten times in search of safety. During the famine, I faced the hard choice of going to aid distribution points under occupation, even when gunfire could interrupt our steps...

Cats & Their People: Stories from Conflict Zones — Luca and Ameen Ameen Aljbour is a pharmacy student in Gaza . He takes care of a cat named Luca. Many times, Luca has run out of food, once running away for two days in search of it. Ameen has shared pictures of her looking at an empty plate. On some occasions, this sweet kitty has gone a short while without food, but inexorably, pennies would again come in, thanks to people on Twitter and from elsewhere donating what they could and retweeting Luca's pictures and needs. We work at keeping Luca alive because as long as she stays alive, hope stays alive. Twitter users have also come to Ameen's rescue as he works his way through his doctor in pharmacy program. Sometimes, he has had to put off an exam for a day because he has not had the fee, but when that information has been shared, again, somehow last-minute donations come in. Currently, he still needs $937 USD to enroll in the next semester (four courses).  Here is Ameen...