Paka Clinic Zanzibar

15/11/2025

On the evening of October 14, a man brought a three-legged mother cat with her five kittens to our Mombasa clinic.
He said he was a driver for a hotel in Nungwi and that the cat needed to be neutered. Our caretaker Hussein wrote down his phone number, but unfortunately did not ask for the hotel’s name.
The mother cat has now been neutered and could have gone back home with her kittens long ago. However, the phone number we were given is no longer answered, and the mother with her five kittens is still with us.
She has an exceptionally friendly character despite her handicap, and it is clear she used to be a pet. Her amputated leg was operated on very poorly in the past, likely after a fracture, and she will need a second corrective surgery once her kittens are old enough and independent.
Does anyone recognise this lovely tabby mother or know who she might belong to?
We would be very grateful for any information that helps us bring her back home with her kittens once she has recovered from her upcoming surgery. For the wellbeing of the mother cat, this surgery will be done free of charge.

04/11/2025

Please help us heal the most challenging wounds on Zanzibar’s street cats.�We don’t want to give up on these two brave fellows�Sometimes we face deep, complicated wounds — in places where bandages simply won’t stay on. To truly give them a second chance, we’re looking for top-quality, advanced wound-care materials.�These supplies can make a life-or-death difference when price isn’t the barrier.�Your support helps us turn hopeless wounds into healing stories:

✔️ Biodegradable dermal matrices (for large tissue defects)�✔️ Veterinary-grade collagen / ECM scaffolds (for irregular, hard-to-dress wounds)�✔️ Low-bulk infection-control dressings (for cats who remove bandages)�✔️ Edge-protection sprays or barrier systems (to stop licking when wraps fail)
How you can help:�• Tag, share, or invite friends who may know donors or veterinary distributors�• Reach out if you or your organisation can donate materials�• Follow our journey — we’ll share updates and healing stories of our rescue cats
Thank you for believing in second chances.�Together we can give Zanzibar’s street-brave cats a healthier, happier future.

24/10/2025

Meet Bel — or “Apricot,” as we sometimes call him for his special colour.�Bel is a beautiful, neutered male, about two years old, currently in our care and urgently looking for a home.
He was adopted as a kitten but sadly abandoned later on the street. Street life doesn’t suit him — he needs a loving human to care for him. Being a dominant male, he often gets into fights and keeps returning to us with wounds.
Bel is a very affectionate and gentle boy, but he should live as a single cat or with females only. (With some males he may get along too, but there’s no guarantee.)
Bel would be so happy to finally find the caring home he truly deserves.

19/10/2025

The advantage of monitored street cat colonies: Young and old cats live together, and kittens learn social behaviour from the very beginning. This slightly older orphan already looks after the tiny one, helping it feel less lonely and miss its mother less.
Of course, there are risks for kittens growing up like this — infections before they are fully protected by vaccination, and accidents. But these cats are fit for street life, which is essential when managing Zanzibar’s large cat population.
You can help by taking responsibility for a street cat colony. Our goal is to have small, monitored colonies spread across town. Colonies should not grow too large, as disease, fighting, and neighbourhood conflicts increase with size.
Please support in any way you can — by caring for a colony yourself, or by helping local caretakers with food or financial support. Asante sana.

16/10/2025

The elegant Sphynx cats seem to be conquering the world — and now even Zanzibar!
This morning in Forodhani we found what looked like the island’s first one… but no, not quite.
It’s actually a poor dumped kitten that was so full of mites that, after a good cleaning bath, all its fur fell out.
We’ll keep you posted on its recovery — and who knows, maybe Zanzibar’s own Sphynx will rise from this little fighter.

08/10/2025

A beautiful big white male is hanging around since a couple of nights in the area behind the big tree. Peaceful with other cats, but a bit anxious with humans. We believe it is a pet cat. Anybody misses a boy like that or knows somebody who misses a white cat?

04/10/2025

With the passing of Jane Goodall, the world has lost an extraordinarily dedicated behavioural scientist. She was the first to document that chimpanzees use tools. This was a revolutionary discovery - until then, tool use had been considered a defining trait of humans alone. Decades later we now know, that several animals, also craws, dolphins and sea otters, use tools.
She devoted much of her later life to protecting rainforests and threatened ecosystems, travelling tirelessly around the world to raise awareness of ecological issues.
But her pioneering work did not stop there. With her deep understanding of animal character - she lived in close proximity to, and observed chimpanzee groups in their natural habitat - she helped awaken the recognition that animals feel, suffer, and enjoy life just as humans do. This was a radical shift after a period when behavioural scientists viewed animals as little more than robots, driven only by instincts and hormones. She became a moral and ethical inspiration to many in the vegan and animal-rights movements: though still followed by relatively few, it has opened the eyes of thousands to the realities of what we eat and to the rights of animals to be respected as living beings.
At Paka Clinic, we will miss Jane Goodall greatly. Empathy toward animals lies at the heart of the wellbeing of our beloved Zanzibar street cat colony.

28/09/2025

Today, 28th September 2025, on World Rabies Day, we join the global call to end rabies.�Rabies is preventable - yet it still claims lives every year. Here in Zanzibar, our street cats are part of the community, and keeping them healthy keeps us all safe. Paka Clinic supports this initiative through vaccination, education, and care.
But Paka Clinic - despite its name (paka means cat) - also treats dogs. Dogs are the main source of rabies transmission. Next week, on Monday, 29th September and Wednesday, 1st October from 10am to 5pm you can bring your pets—or street animals you care for—to our Mombasa Clinic for free rabies vaccination and deworming.
Every vaccinated animal brings us closer to a rabies-free island. Together, we can make rabies history - for Zanzibar’s cats and dogs, and for all of us.

04/09/2025

Shhh… still a little secret. Here’s Dr. Goodluck, our Head Veterinarian, enjoying his well-deserved breakfast after an early morning street patrol in Stone Town.
Since last week, Paka Cafe has quietly opened its doors! We’re in the training phase with our wonderful team, Saida and Rahika, and still fine-tuning our menu.
We’ll make a big splash once everything feels just right – because we want to offer you nothing less than our very best.

Send a message to learn more

31/08/2025

More and more often, people bring us their pet cats for hospitalization—sometimes due to accidents or open wounds that won’t heal for a long time, and sometimes for lengthy, intensive treatments, such as in the case of cats suffering from the highly infectious disease Panleucopenia. Sadly, after successful treatment, some owners no longer want their cats back.
This leaves us with troubling questions: Did they only bring the cat to us as a way to get rid of it? Have they already replaced the cat with another pet after just two or three months? Has their life situation changed so drastically that they feel unable to keep the cat? Or are they simply afraid of the costs?
We face the costs of treatment regardless. But when the cat is abandoned with us, the burden grows much heavier—we must also cover the daily expenses of food, care, and space. Even though we insist that treatment costs must be paid for pets, it is still far better if you don't pay the treatment, but take your cat back, rather than leaving it behind. And this is not just about finances. As we have explained many times: former pet cats rarely feel well in a colony, which is the only option we can offer them. They long for human attention and affection, and sadly, we cannot provide the level of care they truly need.
Please, stop this heartbreaking behavior. It causes us enormous problems—but even worse, it causes grief and suffering for the cats.
In the photo, you see one of these unfortunate, beautiful cats who is deeply unhappy after being abandoned with us. Who will give him the forever home he deserves? Please call us at 0776 066 346. We can also introduce you to other lovely cats in need who were left behind.

24/08/2025

In Zanzibar – and perhaps everywhere - there is a big imbalance between all the kittens that are dumped and those that are adopted. We need to look for new solutions.
If a kitten stays with humans, with food, shelter and care, they are no longer able to cope with hard street life - we cannot just put them out later. To avoid this, we have found a way to raise kittens in a way they are still fit for street life. Already when they are very young - as soon as they are vaccinated - they live in groups and can go outside and return whenever they wish. Generally, we avoid keeping them alone in a cage for long, as they become too accustomed to people and don’t socialise enough with other cats, which is critically important for their survival chances in the street.
In our kitten room, where only tiny cats can come in, they remain as long as they wish and are small enough. Usually, they find their own place somewhere outside before being too big. For males this will be the case sometimes at 6 months already, depending on the dominant male in the area. For females sometimes only after 2 years, and for some never.
This is a good solution for us, not to have our places overcrowded.