It is true that in the countries where the SHE-cats find a new home many local cats are also waiting in local shelters.
But there are also many animals, such as cats, in need abroad. This website is now specifically about cats from Egypt. But there are similar projects for cats from Spain, Italy, Syria, Greece, Cyprus, India….
There are also projects that rescue dogs & adopt them internationally. For example about Spanish greyhounds.
There are many worthy initiatives.
Getting these cats adopted locally in their home country is possible and does happen. But it is highly exceptional. Not when the streets are full of cats. The only realistic way out is international adoption.
So…cats from Egypt. Why?
Since there are many cats in local shelters there is no need to breed cats. But commercial cat breeders exist and are successful.
Many people who want a cat do not wish to adopt. They go to a pet store. They go to a cat breeder.
They don’t want a second hand cat. They want a pedigree cat.
These people are definitely not going to adopt a cat locally from a shelter (or abroad).
And then we have the fraction of people who want to adopt, but they absolutely have to have ‘a cute kitten’. The younger the better.
Although many kittens arrive at Safe Haven Egypt, they are almost always between one and two years old when adopted. Even if those kittens would quickly find an adopter due to legal requirements, they will be at least 7 months old when they can travel.
A lot of people don’t want those anymore. – Too old.
Those people are also not going to get their cat from Safe Haven Egypt.
Of the group of people who want to adopt an adult cat, a much smaller fraction will be open to the idea of adopting a foreign cat.
This is because it is ‘remote adoption’. – You have to adopt a cat only seen on the internet. You have to put your trust in an organization unknown to the potential adopter Somewhere on the Internet and abroad..
That’s a lot to ask a potential candidate.
And although we try to make it as simple as possible we can’t compete with the convenience of being able to go to a local shelter where the animals are available for an introduction and are mostly ready to take home directly.
We can not offer that. You will have to wait probably several months before the cat arrives. – That also does not help to get our cats adopted.
The fraction of people who are open to adopting our cats is very small.
In the 10 years that Safe Haven Egypt has been active, SHE has placed around 1,000 cats worldwide.
These foreign cats do not displace the cats in local shelters. The numbers are simply far too low.
Ultimately, those foreign cats, in this case Egyptian ones, come from abroad because they also deserve a chance to find a good and safe forever home.
That is, if we find those rare people who want to give these animals a chance.
At the end of the day, many people in Egypt treat cats like trash. Thousands die. Due to hardship or as a result of owners abandoning them. With SHE, we are trying to save a tiny fraction. Because this is what we can do.
A neighbor beside the shelter came 2 days go and asked us to take her cat as she doesn’t want her anymore. – I told her ok we will take her but give us a couple of days to prepare a cage for her. – She said OK no problem. – Last night we found the cat in the street in very bad situation and bitten by dogs. – I don’t know with which words I should describe this lady. I went to her today and told her didn’t we promise to take the cat? Why did she threw her in the street? – She said because she simply does not want her anymore. – Poor kitty is in very bad shape and we will send her for x-ray.
Kareema Ibraheem, Founder of SHE, March 15, 2025
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