A cafe in Iraq offers adopted cats a purrfect time

(19 Apr 2024) IRAQ CAT CAFE SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS RESTRICTION SUMMARY: LENGTH: 2:53 ASSOCIATED PRESS Irbil, Iraq - 15 April 2024 1. Cat sitting on table at cafe 2. Customers at cat café 3. Various of women playing with cats, petting them and taking photos of them 4. Cat looking toward people in café 5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Laila (no second name given), woman from Syria living in Irbil: “I love these projects because animals really need humanity, especially in our countries. So, this project encourages kindness toward animals, specifically cats because they are very beautiful animals.“ 6. Various of women playing with cats 7. Cats eating food inside cafe 8. Woman playing with cat 9. Pictures and names of cats hung up on wall 10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aya al-Mahmoud, owner of Furry Cat Cafe in Irbil: “The idea of the cafe is not just about having a cat cafe and spending a nice time here. There is also a humanitarian idea behind it, that we care for cats. We provide a shelter, a place where they can play and enjoy themselves. And there is a doctor who looks after them.“ 11. People in cafe 12. Cats sitting on table 13. Al-Mahmoud working inside cafe 14. Framed pictures of cat on wall 15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aya al-Mahmoud, owner of Furry Cat Cafe in Irbil: “We have a bar serving hot and cold drinks, and donuts. I mean we don’t serve food, it is only donuts and sweets. Then comes the cat zone where you can sit, play, and give treats to cats. You can read books. And it is even possible in the mornings when the place is quiet and nice for the cats to come and sit with you while you work on your laptop or do other things.“ 16. Women playing with cats 17. Cats sitting on chairs and tables 18. Various of photos of cats with customers on wall 19. Women playing with cat 20. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jihan Ahmad, animal lover living in Irbil: “Well, I love cats a lot. It is my hobby since I was a child to raise them. I have about nine cats at home. I mean, I feel like I’ve found my spot here (at the cafe), and I always come to this place.“ 21. Cafe worker behind desk 22. People inside cafe 23. Café sitting on ground 24. Outside shot of Fury Café in Irbil STORYLINE: A cat cafe in Irbil is turning into a hub for feline lovers and their furry friends. The majority of cats in the cafe are adopted and street cats, except for some of the more rare breeds such as the Egyptian Sphynx cat. People from Irbil and across the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq go to the Furry Cat Cafe to spend time with the animals. “We care for cats. We provide a shelter, a place where they can play and enjoy themselves. And there is a doctor who looks after them,“ said the cafe owner, Aya al-Mahmoud, a Syrian engineer who currently lives in Irbil. The cafe officially opened a year ago and is home of around 25 adult cats along with a number of kittens. “I love cats a lot. It is my hobby since I was a child to raise them,“ said Jihan Ahmad, a client and feline lover, while holding a cat. Customers can take pictures of them with the cats that are later placed on a wall at the cafe to show how big the group of pet lovers is. To preserve the health of the cats and the clients, there are rules the visitors have to follow: they are required to sanitize their hands before playing with the cats and they are not allowed to feed the animals any food apart from those provided and sold by the cafe. The cafe only servers its human clientele beverages and desserts. AP video shot by Rashid Yahya =========================================================== Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: ​​ Instagram: You can license this story through AP Archive: