Kaleem Gul’s workday looks a little different from most. By day, he works across Dubai as a Talabat delivery rider; by evening, he returns to a different responsibility, caring for more than 70 stray cats near his home in the Al Quoz Industrial Area.
The cats rely on him for food, care, and, when needed, urgent assistance. Whether it’s injuries, illness, disappearances, he is always there for these cats, often taking help from WhatsApp groups for assistance when cases become too difficult to manage alone.
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From quiet concern to a growing rescue network
A little hesitant at first, Gul shares his story: “I’ve been in Dubai since 2018. Over time, he noticed a growing number of abandoned cats in the area, some wandering between warehouses and construction sites, others struggling to find food. “There were so many stray cats just roaming around, trying to survive,” he says.
Gul connected with animal rescue volunteers across the UAE through WhatsApp and began reaching out for help whenever needed. He also set up a Facebook group to request food donations for the cats, building a small but steady support system around them. “I also created a Facebook group so people could donate food,” he says. The Facebook Group is called Feeding Stray Cats.
Volunteers support stray cat care through TNR and coordination efforts
That support system has been strengthened by Amal CSR, a DED-registered platform that connects corporate social responsibility efforts with causes like animal welfare and environmental sustainability. Through its backing, food donations are coordinated and, when feasible, medical care is arranged—often with volunteers covering the costs themselves.
Sylvia Chandel, an animal rescuer with almost two decades of experience and a member of multiple animal rescue networks, recalls first coming across Gul’s messages in these groups, alongside support from fellow volunteers Crystal Borhade, Rupsa Mukerjee, Rakhi Choudhary and Emma Smith. “He sends photos of the cats and updates on their condition,” she says. “We try to respond with food, and when needed, we coordinate vet visits or sterilisation.”
She describes Al Quoz as hosting a complex, often invisible stray cat ecosystem. “There’s an entire population of cats in these industrial pockets,” she explains. They try to intervene where they can, especially through TNR.
Trap-neuter-return (TNR), she adds, remains the most widely accepted humane method to manage stray cat populations in Dubai, preventing uncontrolled breeding while allowing animals to remain in their environment.
Another volunteer quietly caring for strays in Al Quoz
Gul is one of many individuals working quietly in the area. In another part of Al Quoz, Fatima Younesi, a housewife, begins her second shift after her household chores are completed in the evening. By 6pm, she is on the streets, looking between buildings and community spaces, feeding and checking on stray cats. According to Gul, there are more than 100 stray cats she has seen around.
“I’ve been doing this for so long. There are so many, between the buildings and near the community centre,” she says. Her work continues deep into the night. “I do this till 3am, sometimes till 6am.”
She describes frequent cases of abandonment, with cats left behind without warning. Like Gul, she relies on volunteer networks to seek medical assistance and coordinate TNR efforts whenever possible.
That support system has been strengthened by Amal CSR, a DED-registered platform that connects corporate social responsibility efforts with causes like animal welfare and environmental sustainability. Through its backing, food donations are coordinated and, when feasible, medical care is arranged often with volunteers covering the expenses themselves.
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