Meet the ‘Cat Man of Aleppo’ Who Refused to Flee Syria to Take Care of His Cats

As people were fleeing the war-stricken neighborhoods of Syria, the cats around the region, started finding refuge in Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel’s home. They started coming to him because he was already feeding some. Aljaleel had around six to seven felines, albeit the number gradually grew to 170 when the savage war started engulfing various parts of the country. By 2015, Aljaleel built a sanctuary named “Ernesto’s house” that was named after his first cat. Many people fled the country, nonetheless, he stayed back to look after his cats amid destruction and war becoming a symbol of resilience. That’s why, he’s famously known as “Cat man of Aleppo.”

‘Cat Man of Aleppo’ – a symbol of resilience

Ambulance driver and paramedic- Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel’s aim was to save all the cats of the region and keep them healthy. He also wanted to create a playground or a sanctuary where all the children can come and play to erase memories of war from their innocent minds. “It was a really wonderful job,” he said. “All the schools and the children used to come and visit the sanctuary. They would see the huge amount of cats that were left behind by their owners.” The families that were fleeing the country also left their cats with him and as for Aljaleel; he always made room for more.

Besides taking care of cats, Aljaleel looked after stray dogs too. He would feed them and give them veterinary care, albeit he couldn’t bring the dogs to live with the cats. Soon enough, Aljaleel himself became a victim of the war. In the month of November, bombs struck ‘Ernesto House’ eventually reducing it to rubble and killing most of the cats. He could flee the city with only a handful of cats that survived. Reaching the countryside wasn’t easy and it took almost 15 days to reach the other side.

Ernesto’s House gets help

Aljaleel’s story began to reach people worldwide through media reports and his own Facebook page. People have raised money; some have organized fundraising events in the United States and Spain. Seeing the amount of loss he incurred, his friends also decided to help him. With all the financial help from friends and people around the world, he was able to rebuild ‘Ernesto’s House’ in the countryside, west of Aleppo. Today ‘Ernesto’s House’ has 25 cats.

His love for animals, however, took a toll on his own family life. He ended up living away from his wife and his two children. They fled to Turkey to start a new life nonetheless the father tries to visit the family as frequently as possible. The kind soul said, “I hope my children one day will understand what their father was doing, and that the world will repay them with the same kindness and mercy I’ve given to these animals and humans in need.”

You can visit Aljaleel’s Facebook page here- ‘Together we help innocents.’