Basra man feeds stray cats daily, calls it a ‘human duty’

BASRA — Abu Ali, a 50-year-old shop owner in Abu Al-Khasib, southern Basra, has spent the past 12 years preparing and delivering three meals a day to stray cats across his town.

What began as a habit passed down from his mother has become a personal ritual tied to his spiritual practice and sense of duty.

Each morning before dawn, Abu Ali cooks more than 20 chickens in a small kitchen, then sets out to distribute the first meal to cats along the road leading to a local Husseiniya, a Shia religious gathering place, as he heads to Fajr prayer.

Later in the day, he delivers a second meal in the Abu Al-Khasib market, and reserves a third for the cats that gather outside his home.

“I have been doing this for more than 12 years,” Abu Ali told 964media. “I distribute food regularly as a way of seeking reward and acknowledging the role these creatures played in strengthening my commitment to Fajr prayer and my livelihood.”

Fajr is the first of Islam’s five daily prayers and is performed just before sunrise.

When chicken isn’t available, he substitutes with canned food or sardines. He also helps families who keep animals but struggle to feed them, offering extra meals when possible.

Abu Ali continues his efforts despite complaints from some neighbors who object to the animals gathering near their homes.

“I don’t blame them,” he said. “But I tell them what I do is not a luxury or a hobby. It’s a human duty toward these creatures.”