MSI Press Blog

  This post continues the series of Caturday posts about cats trapped in war zones. Cats are not political (nor are dogs or any other animal for that matter--nor, generally, the people caring for them, nor this post). In peace and where people watch out for them, cats enjoy being loved and learn to return love. Yet, cats (and other animals) do get find themselves struggling in war zones. They, just like people who have done nothing to bring harm to anyone else but just happen to live there, suffer the consequences of evil descending unexpectedly from sources external to them. Like people, cats and other animals suffer when they are homeless and without food or winter. And they are often completely forgotten when war (or natural disaster, for that matter -- they drown in floods and burn in fires) breaks out. Like people, they have to dodge bullets, bombs, and other dangers. Unlike people, they are often not calculated into humanitarian outreach efforts. (Ditto for dogs and other ani...

   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 — 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...

  Bashir Al-Bani, Orator of the Grand Mosque of Damascus ... Al-Bani’s delicate sensibility often surprised me. This quality could be seen not only in the way in which he seemed to be always worried about people who were suffering but also in his concern for animals, cats in particular. For over seven years, I worked as a Program Officer at the Syrian Office of the United Nations Development Program. In this capacity, I was responsible for a number of development projects supported by UNDP in Syria.  One day I was asked by Al-Bani about the feasibility of initiating a domestic waste recycling program in Damascus. I said I would investigate it but that environment was not one of the areas that I supervised. Little did I know that Al-Bani’s request was destined to be repeated with ever increasing momentum until the question, “What have you done about recycling?” became one that was automatically asked upon my arrival at his home.   “Why?” I finally asked,...

Cats and Their People — Mohamed and the Neighborhood Cats & Dogs Muhammed Musa Rashad Haraz (@SARAMoh69489245 on X) has entrusted me with creating and managing this crowdfunding campaign so him and his family can evacuate Gaza. All the money raised will go towards paying the evacuation fees so they can enter Egypt and find some much needed safety, as well as subsequent necessities like accomodation and food, once they cross the border. Muhammed loves cats and rescues many of them, even during this difficult time. He feeds them and cares for them, despite the living conditions in Gaza getting worse and worse. He lost his house in the bombings. Finding money to buy a tent has been hard, let alone the funds to pay the exorbitant prices asked of those who wish to cross the border to Egypt. Food is expensive and hard to come by ,but he still does his best to feed the animals in his care. He also has a young daughter, Maria, and wishes to protect her from further harm, she is just one a...

  Running late this Caturday, but it is still Caturday in California! Briefly, then, I would like to point out that not only people were victims of the recent earthquake in Syria. So were a great many critters. Ernesto's Sanctuary for Syrian Cats in Aleppo has been working miracles taking care of abandoned and homeless cats in war-torn Syria. Now, they are helping with cat rescue following the recent devastating earthquake. And HERE is a video of cats being rescued. Note: I assume that they could use prayers, donations, and/or sharing this information as widely as possible. For more Caturday posts, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press ...