Cat Corner Stories

17/12/2023

I had a dream about Bine last night. Does this mean he's not of this world anymore?

He didn't recognize me at first as I approached him down the street. Then I called out to him and he recognized my voice. He came right over.

I'm afraid to even ask anyone to check on Cat Corner anymore. I'm afraid of what they may find.

I don't think I'll ever get over my departure from there.

Tamer keeps trying to console me by saying Allah put me in their path to help them, and so there will be others to do their part. Trying to rationalize things beyond my control is becoming a challenge again.

I miss my sweet boy. I miss them all.

12/08/2023

Happy to the luckiest cat from Cat Corner – Maki! 😻❤️🎉

Today marks his 1st anniversary in the arms of his adopter, a wonderful English expat in Saudi Arabia. Once she leaves for England, Maki will travel with her as well. For now, they are spending their quality time together in a comfortable place they call home in Jeddah.

Maki was abandoned outside in our neighborhood in June 2022. We were able to help him and offer him a foster home. It was a very heartfelt goodbye on this day one year ago, but I managed to visit him quite a few times before we left for Slovenia.

This gorgeous boy has many fans among Cat Corner followers. I am certain we all rejoice in celebrating Maki's fortune. He deserves a very sweet life indeed. ❤️

***

First photo was taken today by Janey, his adopter. She was kind enough to send me his portrait today. The second slide is from 1 year and a day ago. He sure grew a lot more fur since then. 😻

08/08/2023

Happy International Cat Day 😻❤️

Here is a cutie pie I haven't shared before. She resided in a green park near our temporary home after we had to move away from Cat Corner. We drove there every morning, but in the afternoons we visited this park and chatted up so many new kitties.

It brought some comfort that they were being cared for by at least one dedicated cat lady. There was a designated feeding station and many water stations all around. Unfortunately, there were no signs of TNR (yet).

Let there be kindness over mistreatment, always. Let there be better days for all the kitties in Saudi Arabia. Inshallah. 🤲❤️

***

16/06/2023

I N M E M O R I A M

My heart is aching again this week. I received news from Mary, a fellow rescuer in Jeddah, that our dearest Cookie is no more in this world. I was told she fell sick and suddenly passed away.

Cookie will forever have a piece of my heart and now she took it with her to the other side of the rainbow.

She was one of those many kittens, that were put in the street with their momma Frida. It's now been 2 years since I stumbled across them. Cookie was one of the lucky ones that found a home with Mary. Faith would have her move to another family, as Mary made sure she would not be homeless even during her personal crisis.

I only saw Cookie once more when she was almost 1 year old. She was glorious. She grew up to be even more stunning than her momma Frida. The latter, as you know, also received my share of help, as I promised her on that faithful day when I found her and the kittens. We made sure she was spayed, after the infamous Monster put her outside again, when she was in heat.

I am sorry I couldn’t do more for you, Cookie. I wish you could have been mine. Rest in peace and wait for me. ❤️

10/04/2023

Today marks the 2nd anniversary since Cat Corner Stories started on Instagram! 🎉

I've been wanting to post something for a while, but I couldn't bring myself to leave things in the past and face new future challenges. Today's anniversary brought a perfect opportunity to do so.

I've also been wondering, if I should change the name of this account, but no alternative has come around yet. On the other hand, there is Cat Corner in Jeddah, and there are Cat Corners all around the World, including Slovenia. Let's see, what the future brings.

What do you think? Do let me know in the comments. 💕

16/03/2023

I had an incredible heartfelt reunion today. Haven't seen my old friend for more than a year. The neighbors kept her inside for the winter. Otherwise, Gatolina rules the park within this small neighborhood, where my parents' house is in Ljubljana.

She must be around 10 years old. We started meeting at the park bench more than 6 summers ago. At some point, she started recognizing my car's engine, and she would jump off her tree and hurry up to where I was parking. For the last few meters, though, she would always slow down. Had to play it cool. She's a cat, after all!

24/01/2023

Happy birthday to one of our toughest kitties around, Gigi is now 1 year old!

Even though I cannot guess her exact date of birth, I don't even know her momma, Gigi's age and health are worth celebrating. "Mashallah Mashallah" is the way to go about it.

Colorful calico has always had such strong spirit since the day we've met. I won't lie, I cried seeing her for the first time. She came running one morning, the smallest ball of fluff. I was able to pick her up and hold her in one hand. "How can she even make it on her own?"

And make it she did, she is thriving. Of course, we can't forget one thing: she was spared endless cycles of pregnancies even before she could start having them. Alhamdulillah. Thanks to our gift of TNR to her, Gigi has had far better chances at staying healthy as a stray.

This photo was taken by Tamer this afternoon. It was his last time visiting Cat Corner(s), at least before he returns to Saudi again for work in a few months. He is coming to see me this Thursday. Alhamdulillah.

All is well at Cat Corner. We've made sure of it. A couple of our friends will continue coming every now and then. If you are in Jeddah and wish to do the same, please reach out to me. We will appreciate any additional help that may come our way.

14/01/2023

Today is no ordinary Caturday. At Cat Corner, there is another snippaversary worth celebrating!

On this day 1 year ago, Attila the White Whale was trapped, neutered, and released.

Attila's capture went down in history as one of the biggest challenges, and it was won by Tamer. Not even with a trap, as we didn't have one yet back then. Attila couldn't resist the wet food and valerian spray inside the carrier. Because I had a gang of already TNR-ed kitties following my every move that morning, I had to sit this trapping out and let Tamer give it a try.

As many of you already know, it was a nailbiter. My dear husband even took off his shoes to be extra silent once he made those few steps towards the carrier to close the door, with the unsuspecting feral tomcat inside.

Since then, his feral attitude has cooled off. He figured, waiting every day for a regular meal wasn't such a bad idea. He deemed me smart enough to accommodate him and serve him food up on a concrete wall, away from the other "peasants."

Honestly, I wish I had more time with him. In about 6 months, I reached a point where he even showed his back to me and allowed me to gently touch his tail. We would have our daily chitchats at breakfast, and he was more and more accustomed to my presence.

Attila continues to reside at the Last Corner, where Tamer still sees him and serves him a pile of food. He is no longer chasing females and fathering countless kittens. He is keeping his coat clean and staying healthier and safer, because he was lucky enough to be gifted with TNR. Attila's clipped ear is one of 84 badges of honor we bestowed on members of the Cat Corner Colonies. ❤️

12/01/2023

Absolutely… It’s like eating Oreos and trying to brush your teeth at the same time 😓

02/01/2023

31/12/2022

😽😽😽

28/12/2022

My last photo with Bine in my arms on December 5th 2022. I flew to Slovenia not even 12 hours after it was taken. We went to feed the gang, as usual in the morning, but I needed to see them again in the afternoon. We brought them extra snacks and cat nip. They had a blast. I cried and hugged those that let me hug them. I'm crying now, writing this post.

I still haven't shared other videos and photos from that day. I'm still processing.

I got my feline fix for the soul by visiting two cat shelters here in Slovenia. I will be sharing more about their work with you all as well.

Tamer is in Jeddah. This morning we've received news his visa to visit me was refused. After an already long and tedious process we are facing new challenges and tests of patience. Keep us in your prayers. I miss my husband, even though he sends me updates on our kitties from Cat Corner.

We usually don't share private details from our lives apart from cat activities, but this can be an opportunity to let others know, how privileged one can be with the right color of passport (and skin). My new year's wish is to see my husband soon and to continue helping our beloved cats wherever we are, together.

27/12/2022

Happy Tongue Out Tuesday from yours truly, Crassus, King of Cat Corner. 👑😼🧡

It's been 3 weeks since I left Jeddah. Tamer is still there, sorting things out, visiting the cats. Everyone is doing well, they are strong and resourceful, Mashallah. I hope the neighborhood steps up as well, especially after Tamer places our stickers at the water stations. He asked the buildings' guards to check on the water bowls already. One volunteer stopped by a couple of times, we are still waiting for the second one to visit for the first time, Inshallah.

19/12/2022

Lilly's story was featured at TNR Works ❤️
Thank you for sharing.

This is a story about Lilly, the cat that had to be "trapped" 3 times.

A very lovable stray cat, that does not take no for an answer when it comes to pets and always demands a second and third pile of food, is one of my favorite members of my colony that I feed each morning in a neighborhood in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

This past September marked her 1st "Spayversary." She is one of those fully grown adult cats that we had to bring in for spaying, after counting the weeks since her delivery. She was visibly pregnant in the summer, so we focused on TNR-ing others. My husband and I just started TNR on our own a couple of months before that, and we were struggling to get appointments. Too many cats in a small congested residential area already. Well, there are too many cats anywhere you might go in Jeddah. You cannot step into the street without seeing a cat or a whole gang of them.

Based on the number of weeks after her pregnant belly disappeared, I was guessing that Lilly was ready to be spayed. She was an easy catch, walked right into a carrier. Back then, we still only used carriers, since we had no trap in our possession. I always brought one with me for practice, so I had the targets ready for TNR on the day we managed to get the appointments.

After dropping her off at the vet, I received a phone call: her milk glands were still too full and the procedure would be very messy. "Do you think you could trap her again in a few weeks?" This was the only time I could say yes without hesitation. No spaying for Lilly that day.

We went to pick her up immediately and since she didn’t go under any anesthesia yet, we released her right away in a shade under her tree with some fresh water and food. She did not complain.

Three weeks later, I finally had another appointment for 2 females and I knew Lilly was coming with me again this time. Sure enough, she didn’t make too much drama with the carrier and we took her upstairs to our apartment to wait for us in a cooler environment, while we catch another female, the one we knew would take more time and patience.

When we went back upstairs to pick up Lilly, we found the crate to be empty and the cat loose in our living room.

“How am I gonna convince her to go in the crate for the third time? She’s not an idiot,” I wondered and grabbed a stronger, but smaller, crate we had on hand. It took me a short while. Lilly wasn’t mad at me, she came for treats and pets without any fear, but of course she was not keen on entering the crate. In the end I managed to handle her gently enough so she didn’t retaliate, but had to give her a small push inside. I was relieved and so happy that I have caught her for the third time.

She waited for me the next morning in front of our building with the rest of the gang. No hard feelings, just same old hefty Lilly, asking for pets and a second breakfast.

Lilly was the 20th cat we TNR-ed. To this day, we fixed 79 cats in our neighborhood.

~ My name is Misha and my husband's name is Tamer. We are expats in Saudi Arabia.

13/12/2022

Who could forget one of the luckiest cats from Cat Corner... Any time I posted an update on his story, he would receive the highest number of cheers and hearts and well wishes from our friends.

Maki was put outside one day in June 2022. He was struggling, not eating. For some reason, his "owners" shaved his fur before abandoning him. Later we discovered, he had a mild case of fungus, which I quickly treated after taking him inside. He was an exception to our general rule of not fostering and looking for adopters. His special appearance made it seem his search for a home would be easier. After he was neutered, no serious application came for some time. I started to worry. I wrote a pi**ed off post on all the rescue/adoption groups, how irresponsible it is to give away cats without fixing them first. All these "special" looking cats are being used for further breeding.

And then... An English lady was coming to Jeddah. She fell in love with Maki right away. She was taken by his calm and loving nature from his videos. The only problem was, we had to wait more than a month for her to arrive. We needed to have faith she was the one for him.

It's now been more than 4 months since Maki came to his new home. He is lord of the manor, master of the living room, usurper of the bedroom.

I said my goodbyes to him before leaving Jeddah. But I now have faith, it was just a "see you later." If not in Saudi, in England one day. Inshallah. ❤️

11/12/2022

It's been a few days since our last breakfast together. I'm still processing my goodbyes to them.

Tamer stayed behind and already went to visit them in my absence. Upon seeing his videos, I'm happy to report all is well at Cat Corner. One of the volunteers is planning to go there tonight on her own for the first time.

As for myself, I'm now adjusting to the cold and solitude in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Winter in Jeddah will be much kinder to the strays than the one here.

I have more photos and videos to share with you from the past few weeks. I just need a bit more time. It's a strange feeling, not breaking down. Perhaps my faith that my darling strays will be alright grew strong enough. Finishing what we started made a difference for them and for my inner peace.

09/12/2022

Dear Friends of Cat Corner,
we want to share these 4 sticker designs with you.

Feel free to visit the link in our bio and download them in English and/or Arabic language.

We invite you to place them at your feeding stations, in case there is a need for indirect communication with the local residents.

We've been noticing some unknown enthusiastic feeders, that mean well, but leave such a mess behind... It's not good for the cats and it may cause more frustration with other neighbors.

It also happens way too often that we find our water bowls filled with milk. There is nobody to address personally about this, since we never see the people doing it. We can perhaps raise awareness about cats' lactose intolerance with these stickers.

Let us know in the comments, if we should make more sticker designs. You are also welcome to tag us, if you'll be using these designs, and we can share your work at your cat colonies.

Thank you for sharing this post with your friends!

***

أصدقاء ركن القطط الأعزاء،
نود مشاركتكم تصاميم الملصقات هذه.

لا تتردد في زيارة الرابط في البايو وتنزيلها باللغة الإنجليزية و / أو اللغة العربية.

ندعوكم لوضعها في محطات الإطعام الخاصة بكم، في حالة وجود حاجة للتواصل غير المباشر مع السكان المحليين.

لقد لاحظنا بعض المتحمسين لإطعام القطط، وهذا شئ جميل، لكننا نترك بعد الإطعام بواقي الطعام بشكل غير لائق ... ذلك ليس جيدًا للقطط وقد يسبب المزيد من الإزعاج للجيران الآخرين.

يحدث أيضًا في كثير من الأحيان أن نجد أوعية الماء لدينا مليئة بالحليب. ولا يوجد أحد لمخاطبتة، لأننا لا نرى الناس عندما يفعلون ذلك. ربما يمكننا رفع مستوى الوعي حول عدم تحمل القطط للاكتوز بهذه الملصقات.

أخبرنا في التعليقات، إذا كان علينا عمل المزيد من تصميمات الملصقات. نرحب أيضًا بعمل تاغ لنا إذا كنت ستستخدم هذه التصميمات، ويمكننا مشاركة عملك في مستعمرات القطط الخاصة بك.

شكرا لمشاركة هذا المنشور مع أصدقائك!

https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/1eg1EvOi-wXWlyVQVB2SbeGDGsoKtlq6C

07/12/2022

Queen Victoria, forever feral... And that's okay! ❤️

Many people confuse the terms stray and feral when they talk about street cats. Not every stray cat is feral, the latter only means the cat is not socialized and is not looking for human contact.

I have it in mind to prepare another info graphic on this subject. It may come in handy to share and spread the word.

In the meantime, please enjoy these 2 portraits of our famous feral feline. 😻

05/12/2022

I don't have many selfies with Vinka, because this miniature biscuit maker puts in the work with such enthusiasm, I can't persuade her to hold still.

The Tree is her home now. I'm so happy she is staying safe high up in it's branches. I don't want to take all the credit, but I did encourage her to climb every windowsill and shoe rack around the mosque, when she was still a growing young cat 2 years ago.

It was also then when I made a promise to her and her brother Bine. "I will help you. I will do everything in my power to keep you safer."

I kept my word. TNR saves lives. ❤️

04/12/2022

Another ear tip to be celebrated! 😻

Angie was spayed on 24th of November 2022, we trapped her on the same morning as the adult female cow cat Roxie.

This tiny calico is so sweet. She popped out of nowhere (as it happens here at Cat Corner), alone but brave. She was very wary of me at first, but started warming up to me in the past month.

She especially liked it when I brought the carrier "just for her." After a few days of training, she would go inside even before I placed any food for her. She just really liked the cozy carrier. And so, on the day of her appointment, she went in without any "bait" once again. I just softly closed the door behind her. Tamer didn't even have time to start recording.

Angie and Roxie spent the night with us after their spaying procedures, and we released them the following morning in time for breakfast. Young lady had her portion in the carrier already before we drove to Cat Corner, so she was not at all hungry once I set her free.

I'm so happy for Angie. I succeeded in keeping another promise. Welcome to the Clipped Ear Gang! ❤️

03/12/2022

Last tushie went into the carrier at Cat Corner today.

Jerry's sister Jenny is our last TNR before we leave Saudi Arabia.

The siblings joined the Tree Corner around 4 months ago. Tiny kittens, very shy, feral. The ginger boy was growing faster and more confident, while his wide eyed sister remained very reserved when it came to my presence. And so, I managed to capture Jerry much sooner, he was neutered on November 7th 2022.

I was so nervous today. I had to succeed, there was no plan B. Jenny was the last stray I promised to fix in our old neighborhood.

She is currently resting in my room. We will keep her overnight and release her tomorrow morning.

I asked our friend the vet to name her, since I was out of ideas. Jenny suits her perfectly.

Check out the video in the comment to see brother and sister around 4 months ago, when they first started showing up at Cat Corner.

01/12/2022

An ear tip is a badge of honor. It's a sign that somebody cared about a stray.

I haven't known Goku for long, but he was lucky enough to join Gigi's Corner at a perfect time, around 2 months ago. He must have moved from down the street, just outside our radius.

This young boy was neutered on 30th of October 2022. He was trapped with ease, as he had not witnessed any other cat being carried away (yet). We had a last minute appointment on a Sunday afternoon, which made us keep him and another male (Pongo) over night.

We released them both the next morning at breakfast time.

Goku started off as a very shy young cat, but after a few weeks of observing me, he's now already letting me pet him for a bit. I even managed to capture his dashing features upclose the other day.

Welcome to the Goku. I'm glad to see you thriving, even though Gigi is bossing you around (for now).

30/11/2022

Meet Roxie. She was spayed and released last week, but we did not see her again until today. I guess she needed some distance from us.

This morning she greeted me as happily as she did before in the past couple of months.

Roxie wandered to the Tree Corner alone at first, then she started bringing 2 tiny kittens with her. I was hoping to fix them all together, but time was working against us.

They both disappeared around 2 weeks ago. Roxie was no longer taking care of them by then, she even wandered off on her own for a couple of days, which got me worried about her appointment. Fortunately, she came back and "trapping" her was easy. Sadly, statistics do not promise a positive outcome for her kittens. 75% of them do not make it outside past 6 months of age.

Roxie sure did pick an interesting day to be spayed. It was on 24th of November, the day of heavy rains and floods in Jeddah. We picked her and Angie up in the morning, and on the way to the vet it all started. Living in the desert changes your perspective, one really looks forward to any raindrop that falls from the sky.

Unfortunately, Jeddah infrastructure was not well prepared for such quantity of water. We barely reached our vet as the roads were already turning into rivers, which made it hard to get back home and wait for the pickup time. We were lucky our part of town was not as bad as some of the other districts, as the water already went down in the afternoon.

Roxie and young calico Angie spent the night at our place, and we released them back to their chosen corners the next morning. It must have smelled so different to them after the rain washed all the streets. We were happy to see the rest of the gang stayed safe and everyone looked surprisingly clean (and dry) at breakfast time. Our kitties must have some of the best hiding spots for such rare occurrences like the desert rain.

29/11/2022

Princess Fiona spent a week in her very own castle.

She had 4 meals a day, her litter box was regularly cleaned, she even had some live entertainment – birdwatching through our window.

My darling Fifi was in our apartment for 7 days after her operation. We brought her to the clinic on a Sunday morning, coming directly from Cat Corner where we trapped her (after failing for a couple of days).

Fiona's right eye had to be removed. She could never see with it for as long as I've known her, more than 2,5 years. It never bothered her, but recently she must have hit it somehow. There was visible tissue hanging out and we wanted to spare her the pain and potential further injuries.

Fiona had the rare pleasure of staying with us for the second time. The first time was when we TNR-ed her on the same day as Queen Victoria, back in May 2021. Ever since then, she's been enjoying her retirement, residing at her private window perch, where we would sometimes deliver her food. Other days she would come on her own to the First Corner, and patiently wait for her portion there.

Fifika, as I also call her, was a very calm recovering patient. I was relieved to see her taking her antibiotics in liquid form with wet food. No matter how sweet she became in the past year, my proximity was NOT her favorite thing in the world, while she was in a cage.

This was my first time hosting a semi-socialized stray cat. I'm truly grateful for this learning experience, and at the same time, proud of myself for the way I handled her care with calmness and positive energy.

Nevertheless, our princess was getting restless during her last 2 days of being confined. Her meowing and water spilling and tearing up the pad were all clues that Fifika was not having a good time. As her wound healed, her complaints became more and more obvious.

Another Sunday came, and it was time for Fiona to be released back outside. She had her last dose of antibiotics and breakfast early in the morning, and then we delivered her to Cat Corner.

This morning she gladly greeted me again. I was even allowed to pet her back. What an honor, to be loved by a proper pirate princess.

***

Thank you Emma, for letting me borrow your cage. We wouldn't be able to prepare such a comfortable nest for Fiona without it.

Thank you Sarah, Jessie, Laura and Kaity for contributing for Fiona's procedure. We really appreciate your help.

Our gratitude of course goes out to My Pet Clinic on Sari Street in Jeddah. We thank you for your professional help and dedication. Thank you for improving Fiona's life.

24/11/2022

🥺🥺🥺🥺