The Syrian town with more cats than people

After months of intensive bombing by Syrian and Russian forces, the town of Kafr Nabl in Syria's last rebel-held province is now home to more cats than people. Humans and felines now provide comfort to one another in hard times, writes the BBC's Mike Thomson.

Crouched beneath a table in the corner of his rubble strewn basement, a man shelters from the barrage of bombs above. But 32-year-old Salah Jaar (pictured above) is not alone. Huddled beside him are half a dozen assorted cats, all as petrified as he is.

"It's comforting when the cats are close," he tells me. "'It makes the bombardment, the demolition, the suffering, seem much less frightening."

Salah's home town, Kafr Nabl, was once home to more than 40,000 people, but fewer than 100 remain. It's hard to guess how many cats there are - certainly hundreds, possibly thousands.
Image copyright Getty Images

"So many people have left Kafr Nabl that the population has become very small. The cats need somebody to care for them and give them food and water, so they've taken refuge in the homes of those who've stayed. Each house now has about 15 cats, sometimes even more," Salah says.



https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-50856274