The BBC reports that during the difficult period in the northwestern town of Syria, humans and cats are now close friends.
Salah Jaar (32 years old) hid under a table in the corner of the ruined basement to avoid the bomb fence above. However, he was not alone as he was surrounded by about half a dozen cats.
"It's a treat to always have cats around," the BBC quoted him as saying. "They make bombs and bullets, the destruction and suffering seem to be reduced."
Salah's hometown of Kafr Nabl used to have more than 40,000 residents but now has only nearly 100.
The number of cats is difficult to count here. Certainly hundreds, even thousands of them.
"A lot of people have left Kafr Nabl, so the population has become smaller. Cats need someone to take care of them, feed them and drink them. Therefore, they took shelter in the homes of those who stayed there. Each household now raises about 15 cats, sometimes more than that," Salah shared.
Salah still works at Fresh FM Radio, despite it becoming a pile of rubble in a recent airstrike. Fortunately, the Radio Station was moved to a safer town than before.
The founder of Raed Fares Radio Station, which was killed by Hoi giao gunmen in November 2018, even allocated a special subsidy to cats to buy milk and cheese.
"Many cats are born in the building. One of them is white with brown spots, and has a close relationship with Raed. The cats go everywhere with him, even sleep next to him," Salah confided.
On the road, there were about 20 to 30 cats walking with the people, and they even followed them home.
As night falls, the barking and barking of countless lost dogs add to the sound at night. They are also hungry and homeless. The search for food from landfills and a place to sleep has made them and the cats in Kafr Nabl compete with each other. And cats always win.
Most of the cats are pets of the families and left the town shortly after pro-government forces reappointed Idlib province in April 2018.
Now, lacking care, love and regular meals, they have had to find a new shelter in the midst of the rubble.
Later, people like Salah may not be sure to survive but always have a place at the table for his four-legged friends.
"Every time I eat, they eat. Whether it is vegetables, noodles or just dried banh mi. In this situation, I felt that we were both weak creatures and needed to help each other," he said.
It is no surprise that cats and people here are injured by constant bombing. Once again, despite the lack of medicine and everything else, Salah tries to take care of them.
Salah confided: "We shared moments of joy, sadness, pain and even fear together. The cats have become close friends in life".
He asserted that if the worst happened and he and others were forced to leave Kafr Nabl, they would take the cats with them.
Even in the victimship of war, the close connection between humans and animals is still being nurtured.
"I raise cats at my friend's house. One of them was almost caught in the front leg by a missile. But we have tried to take him to Idlib city for treatment and now he can walk," Salah shared.
In addition, he expressed concern about the town's residents in this harsh situation.
