Junior the cat assumed Amira the dog was her mother after only one look, and the kitten would not take “no” for an answer.
Amira is a street dog who lives near II Gattaro d’Aleppo, also known as “The Cat Man of Aleppo,” a well-known cat refuge in Syria’s combat zone.
Although the sanctuary’s creator, Mohammad Alaa Jaleel (also known as Alaa), has done his best to care for Amira, he is unwilling to allow her to live with the other 80 cats who call II Gattaro d’Aleppo home owing to safety concerns.
When Alaa realized Amira was pregnant, he let her sleep in his room until the time came for her to give birth, trying to provide some consolation. When Amira went into labor, however, tragedy struck: none of the puppies survived.
Alessandra Abidin, Alaa’s friend who maintains the II Gattaro d’Aleppo Facebook page from her home in Italy, stated, “We were upset and horrified for her, and we gave her a plush teddy bear to snuggle because she was extremely unhappy.”
Junior the kitten, like Amira, had lost her family and was living on the streets until Alaa discovered her and took her to II Gattaro d’Aleppo.
Junior quickly fit in at the sanctuary, getting to know all of the many cats that lived there. She also noticed one of Amira’s teddy bears and Amira, who usually sits outside the sanctuary’s entrance.
According to Abidin, she noticed the dog’s teddy bear and approached him gently to play. Amira didn’t appear to bother, even allowing Junior to crawl on top of her.
“We found them together,” Abidin explained. “And the kitty was riding her [Amira], and she was perfectly well. “She even appeared to smile.”
Amira visits II Gattaro d’Aleppo several times every week, and Junior always greets her. Junior may be smaller and of a different species, but Amira has learned to like her – and the feelings are plainly reciprocated. They play, eat, and slumber together.
We believe she is a princess because of her great soul, therefore we named her Amira, which means princess, Abidin explained.