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Last Thursday morning, I left home for work already running late after another difficult morning. As I walked toward my car, I noticed a cat lying motionless on the sidewalk.

Olfa Ferchichi

She had been abandoned in my neighborhood only a few days earlier. Every evening, she came to eat with the stray cats I feed outside my home.

At first, I thought she had been hit by a car. There was no blood and no visible injury. As I bent down to move what I believed was her lifeless body, I saw her trembling violently.

I immediately recognized the signs.

Olfa Ferchichi

After years of rescuing animals in Tunisia, I have seen far too many poisoned cats.

I rushed her to a veterinary clinic, even though I already had unpaid veterinary bills. Leaving her there for emergency treatment was my only choice before going to work.

That same morning, one of my own rescued cats, Pirate, disappeared. Pirate lives in my father's garden because he is not allowed inside the house. I spent the morning worrying about him.

At 2 p.m., my nephew called to tell me that Pirate had also been poisoned.

Olfa Ferchichi

We rushed him to the same veterinarian. Thankfully, he had ingested a smaller amount of poison and survived after emergency treatment.

Just three days later, during the extreme heatwave affecting Tunisia, I went outside to cool the dogs' area with water. The temperature was around 41°C (106°F), with a feels-like temperature close to 50°C (122°F). My car displayed 51°C (124°F) when I started the engine.

Almost nobody was outside.

In a nearby garden, I found Monji, a stray cat I have fed and cared for for nearly two years. He was lying helpless in the burning sun.

At first, I thought he was sleeping. When I got closer, I realized he had also been poisoned.

I immediately rushed him to another veterinary clinic, where one of my rescued dogs, Dolly, was already receiving treatment. Despite my unpaid veterinary debt, the veterinarian did not hesitate and accepted Monji for emergency care.

Olfa Ferchichi

At the same time, one of the pregnant stray cats I care for, Jamila, disappeared. She has not been seen since Thursday.

I fear she may also have been poisoned somewhere out of sight.

Sadly, this is not an isolated story.

Over the years, I have lost many rescued and stray cats to deliberate poisoning. People abandon unwanted cats and kittens near my home because they know I will feed them, yet others intentionally place poison where these hungry animals live.

Olfa Ferchichi

This is the heartbreaking reality of animal rescue in Tunisia.

While stray dogs are threatened by government culling campaigns in many areas, stray cats are frequently poisoned by people who simply do not want them alive.

I rescue animals while working full-time from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. I currently care for more than 70 rescued cats and dogs.

I am overwhelmed by veterinary debts, boarding fees for my rescued dogs, food costs, and rent for the house where many of my rescued cats live.

This week alone, I have had to pay for the emergency treatment of three poisoned cats while continuing to care for Dolly, a rescued dog who is still hospitalized, and a newly rescued puppy who still needs vaccinations, sterilization, a microchip, blood tests, and preparation for adoption abroad.

Every day, I wonder how I will continue.

But every day, another abandoned animal appears, needing urgent help.

I cannot save them alone.

If you would like to follow my rescue work or support these animals, you can find my rescue page and fundraiser here:

Reel:
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DBQGMARi9/

My Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1SuLvGuxho/

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

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Story submitted by Olfa Ferchichi.

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