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![\"Mochi,](\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Mochi-From-Cairo-to-Brussels-and-the-One-Person-Rescue-Team-Who-Saved-Hermochi-as-a-baby-800x600.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
She stuck her paw out of the crate as if to say, \u201cLet me out.\u201d She didn\u2019t know she was on her way home.<\/i><\/p>\n
The alarm rings. Not your usual\u00a0snooze-and-roll-over<\/i>\u00a0kind of alarm \u2014 this is the\u00a0Mochi\u2019s going on a plane<\/i>\u00a0alarm.<\/p>\n
Checklist time: food bowls lifted so she doesn\u2019t sneak a last-minute snack, passport and ticket money checked, crate lined with pads, special plastic zippers locked, name tag written.<\/p>\n
I place Mochi inside the crate. Sprinkle a little catnip to keep her calm during her journey. A paw shoots out like a tiny protest sign:\u00a0\u201cExcuse me, ma\u2019am, what exactly is happening here?\u201d<\/i>\u00a0She doesn\u2019t know \u2014 how could she? \u2014 that this scary little trip is her bridge to a forever family.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s only been with me eight months, but that\u2019s the only home she knows. I am her person. And I can\u2019t help but wonder: when she settles, will she understand what I did for her? Maybe. Maybe not.<\/p>\n Where It Began<\/b><\/p>\n Mochi\u2019s story didn\u2019t start in a crate.<\/p>\n She was once a tiny calico kitten, sitting alone in a cold winter garden \u2014 no mother, no siblings, just a small wound and a circle of dogs sniffing around her. One of the security guards spotted her on his way to his shift.<\/p>\n Many people would have walked past without thinking much of it. But over the years, as I fed my colony and rescued cats in front of the security and garage workers, something shifted in them. They began to see animals through a different lens. Rescue didn\u2019t seem strange anymore \u2014 it became normal, even possible.<\/p>\n That day, he called me and asked if he could bring her to me. I couldn\u2019t say no. He showed up at my doorstep with this fragile, wide-eyed kitten, and that was the beginning. She blossomed into a resilient, strong-headed calico girl \u2014 the Mochi I zipped into a crate eight months later.<\/p>\n The Flight<\/b><\/p>\n We drive to the airport. For me, it\u2019s just a few hours of waiting, talking rescue tidbits with fellow rescuers, swapping WhatsApps about other traveling cats. For her, it must have felt like intergalactic travel \u2014 the noise, the smells, the fear.<\/p>\n When she landed in Frankfurt, her adopter \u2014 who had traveled all the way from Brussels to pick her up \u2014 sent me a photo. Mochi looked confused, exhausted, and slightly betrayed. My heart sank. But I knew she was in good hands.<\/p>\n This wasn\u2019t just any adopter. Fourteen years ago, she adopted a silver Mau cat from me, a boy I had named\u00a0Silver Sultan<\/b>. I\u2019d found him one night on the street as I was heading to dinner with friends. He was under a year old, far too friendly to survive long out there. So I scooped him up, and in time, he made his way to her.<\/p>\n Silver Sultan has been with her ever since \u2014 loved and cared for all these years. So when Mochi went into her arms, I felt a wave of relief. A full circle \u2014 trust, love, and continuity. Few things in rescue feel as rare, or as precious.<\/p>\n Back to Routine<\/b><\/p>\n Then back home: cats to feed, medicine to give, updates from boarding, clinics, and fosters.<\/p>\n How many times have I done this now? At first, I tried to count. Not anymore. The numbers blur. The feelings don\u2019t: worry for the one that left, anxiety for the ones still here, and a head buzzing with surgeries, vet bills, and looming financials.<\/p>\n A One-Person Shelter<\/b><\/p>\n Here\u2019s the truth no one tells you: what I do every day isn\u2019t supposed to be the work of one person. In another country, this would be handled by a shelter with staff and volunteers.<\/p>\n But in Egypt, with stray and abandoned pets far outnumbering the few shelters we have, individuals like me end up carrying the load of an entire system.<\/p>\n Is it sustainable? Probably not.<\/p>\n Can I look away? Definitely not.<\/p>\n Will things change soon? Honestly\u2026 doubtful.<\/p>\n The Adoption Hurdles<\/b><\/p>\n On top of it all, international adoption has become harder. Inflation makes people think twice. And let\u2019s face it \u2014 everyone wants the fluffy, Instagram-ready cats.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, I have a lineup of short-haired domestics and cats with disabilities. They\u2019re just as loving, just as deserving \u2014 but not always the \u201cpretty ones.\u201d<\/p>\n Why We Keep Going<\/b><\/p>\n So, how has this been going for nearly 20 years? I don\u2019t know. But I do know this: the moment I see a photo of a cat curled up safe in their forever home, every sleepless night and every headache vanishes.<\/p>\n Because that\u2019s what it\u2019s about.<\/p>\n The Bigger Picture<\/b><\/p>\n Is rescue life different elsewhere? I doubt it. Rescuers everywhere live in a loop: endless rescues, the dread of spotting another animal in need, the fear of answering that call or message about a cat dumped on the street.<\/p>\n We rush to post advice, fight against mistreatment, and raise awareness. But most of the time, it feels like we\u2019re talking to ourselves, inside the rescue bubble.<\/p>\n The only real solution? Education on a massive scale. Start in kindergarten. Teach kids that pets are family, not toys. Show them the beauty of all domestic cats and dogs, so specific breeds stop getting all the love. And maybe, just maybe, we\u2019ll raise a generation that adopts adults, not just kittens and puppies.<\/p>\n And Tomorrow\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n For now, one cat has traveled. How many more to go? Too many to count.<\/p>\n But I keep going. I\u2019ve been saying that for 18 years now.<\/p>\n And tomorrow, I\u2019ll probably say it again.<\/p>\n \u2728\u00a0Because for Mochi, and for Silver Sultan before her, and for every cat after them, it\u2019s worth it.<\/i><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc8c\u00a0If you\u2019d like to follow Mochi\u2019s updates \u2014 and many more rescue stories \u2014 you can find me on Facebook (<\/i>EgyPaws Cat Rescue<\/i><\/b>) or Instagram (<\/i>@simbakis<\/i><\/b>).<\/i><\/p>\n![\"Mochi,](\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Mochi-From-Cairo-to-Brussels-and-the-One-Person-Rescue-Team-Who-Saved-Her-mochi-resting.jpeg\")
![\"Mochi,](\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Mochi-From-Cairo-to-Brussels-and-the-One-Person-Rescue-Team-Who-Saved-Her-silver-sultan-before.jpg\")
![\"Mochi,](\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Mochi-From-Cairo-to-Brussels-and-the-One-Person-Rescue-Team-Who-Saved-Her-silver-sultan-after.jpg\")
![\"Mochi,](\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Mochi-From-Cairo-to-Brussels-and-the-One-Person-Rescue-Team-Who-Saved-Her-mochi-in-the-kitchen-scaled.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Mochi,](\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Mochi-From-Cairo-to-Brussels-and-the-One-Person-Rescue-Team-Who-Saved-Her-silver-sultan-in-Brussels.jpg\")
![\"Mochi,](\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Mochi-From-Cairo-to-Brussels-and-the-One-Person-Rescue-Team-Who-Saved-Hermochi-in-Brussels-dec-_25.jpg\")