Alley Cat Allies’ work on behalf of cats is truly global! From Maryland to Morocco, we take action where cats need us and learn the landscape to make even greater, wider-reaching change that saves lives.
This month, members of our team were on the ground in Morocco to protect cats in Casablanca, the North African country’s largest city, and Rabat, its capital city. Casablanca is known worldwide, including as a tourist destination and the setting of a highly popular film. It also has another common moniker: the City of Cats.
In fact, community cats are a fixture in many Moroccan cities. Take a walk through the streets—or even just through an airport—and you’ll spot a cat almost anywhere you look. Moroccans have a deep cultural and even religious connection with their cat community members. You’ll often see Moroccans crouching down to provide community cats with a bowl of food, or paying little mind when a cat joins them on their blanket for a rest outdoors.
But though the residents of Morocco care for and highly regard their cats, a significant lack of accessible veterinary care and other essential resources is a constant strain.
While in Morocco, the Alley Cat Allies team walked the streets of Casablanca and Rabat, offering food to community cats and providing emergency medical care. The joy from locals at seeing our attention to their cats was palpable. But we saw firsthand how few cats had been spayed or neutered, or provided with other needed treatment. As the leader in the global movement to protect cats and kittens, we knew we had to help facilitate change.
So today, we are strategizing ways to improve access to care and other critical support for the cats who mean so much to Morocco’s people and history.
Saving Soleil
While setting down bowls of wet cat food for cats in a Casablanca park, our team spotted a small, skinny orange kitten. It was immediately clear that she had been separated from her siblings and mother—and that she needed medical attention.
They quickly wrapped her in a towel, scooped her up, and headed to the closest veterinary clinic—a 30-minute walk away. Despite her young age, Soleil was calm and brave as she was examined and treated for dehydration, fleas, and anemia. Today, she continues to recover at the clinic.
Speaking with the young veterinarian caring for Soleil, the deeper needs in Morocco quickly came into focus. While many people love their cats, and some dedicated professionals perform Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), there remains a desert in affordable options for veterinary care. For most Moroccan cat caregivers, accessible veterinary resources are out of reach.
The Road Ahead to Lifesaving Change for Cats
With reports of other factors affecting the treatment of animals in Morocco—including its future hosting of a World Cup—Alley Cat Allies is exploring action that will save cats’ lives, provide important education, and improve critical resources for cats in key cities like Casablanca.
Thank you to our supporters who make our global movement possible. Your generosity is why we can act with impact—from hands-on, direct care for kittens like Soleil to community change on a larger scale. As always, we will keep you updated on the latest in our work!
