This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Submit your own rescue story here. Your story just might be the next to be featured on our blog!

Kitten season is always the hardest time of the year.

In Tunisia, abandoned kittens are everywhere. They are left in boxes, dumped near roads, abandoned in empty fields, hidden under parked cars, or simply left to die because they are considered unwanted.

Olfa Ferchichi

Over the past few weeks alone, I have rescued one kitten after another. One was crying alone in a neighborhood, too young to survive by himself. Another was hiding under a parked car, terrified. Teddy was wandering beside a busy road between open fields. Other kittens were abandoned outside my family’s home because people know I feed stray animals and assume I will take responsibility for them.

Every rescue is different, but they all have one thing in common: if no one stops to help, these kittens have almost no chance of surviving.

Sometimes, I rescue them too late. By the time I find them, they have already spent days or even weeks without proper food, warmth, or medical care. Despite veterinary treatment and all the love I can give them, some survive only a few weeks because their tiny bodies have already suffered too much. Losing them is heartbreaking, especially knowing they should never have been abandoned in the first place.

This is only part of my daily reality.

Olfa Ferchichi

Today, more than 70 rescued cats and dogs depend on me. I care for rescued kittens, adult cats, sick animals, and cats that still need to be sterilized. I also feed two stray dogs every day, care for one rescued dog living with my cats, another rescued dog in a foster home who still needs to be vaccinated and spayed, and several rescued dogs staying in a paid boarding facility whose fees I have been unable to pay for months.

I continue sterilizing cats whenever I can because it is the only way to reduce the endless cycle of suffering. Yet every week, more abandoned kittens appear.

I work full-time, and every evening after work, I go to care for the animals. I feed them, clean their shelter, take the sick ones to the veterinary clinic whenever I can, and continue rescuing any animal that crosses my path. I am physically, emotionally, and financially exhausted, but I cannot ignore an animal that needs help.

Olfa Ferchichi

I don’t rescue animals because I have enough time or enough money. I rescue them because leaving them behind often means leaving them to die.

Today, I can no longer continue alone. The costs of food, veterinary care, sterilization, boarding, and daily care have become overwhelming, but these animals still depend on me every single day.

Olfa Ferchichi

If you would like to follow their journey, please visit my Facebook rescue page, where I regularly share updates about the animals in my care.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CYumtd68W/

If you are able to help, please consider supporting my fundraiser. Every donation, no matter the amount, helps provide food, veterinary care, and hope for these rescued animals.

https://www.cotizup.com/pour-animaux-errants

Even if you cannot donate, simply sharing my rescue work can help these forgotten animals reach someone who can.

Thank you for caring.

Find another reel of recent rescues here: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18beuccsLs/

SHARE YOUR OWN RESCUE STORY

Story submitted by Olfa Ferchichi.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!