Meet Beirut’s ‘Mother of Cats’ who rescues felines in need
HADATH, Lebanon (AP) — Diana Abadi is known in the southern suburbs of Beirut as the “Mother of Cats.”
For the past 12 years, she has turned her home and shop into a refuge for abandoned felines who now number between 50 and 70, and she often sleeps beside the cats as she cares for them full time.
Abadi began by taking in a single kitten.
Kittens sit in a shelter run by Diana Abadi, known as “the mother of cats,” as they wait for adoption at her small pet food and plant shop in Hadath, in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Word spread, and residents started bringing her injured and unwanted animals, especially during periods of crisis. At its peak, the shelter housed more than 150 cats, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent Israel-Hezbollah war, when fear and displacement led many people to abandon their pets.
Her plant and pet food shop in the southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh serves as both her livelihood and the cats’ shelter. Among those currently in her care are Joujou, 13, the oldest, as well as cats named Loulou, Fluffy, Emma and Panda.
Diana Abadi, known as “the mother of cats,” kisses one of her foster felines up for adoption at her small pet food and plant shop in Hadath, in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
One of the most challenging cases involves a cat that was completely blind when abandoned. A woman offered to cover the animal’s expenses if Abadi would take him in. After months of treatment, the cat has partially regained vision in one eye.
Social media has recently helped improve adoption rates, reducing the number of cats under Abadi’s care. Rising costs, however, threaten the shelter’s future. Monthly rent has climbed to $800, up from $250 before the war, forcing Abadi to cover most expenses herself.
“These are living beings,” she said. “I don’t take holidays or Sundays off.”
Diana Abadi, known locally as “the mother of cats,” feeds felines waiting for adoption at her small pet food and plant shop in Hadath, in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Cats waiting for adoption stand on shelves at a shelter run by Diana Abadi, known locally as “the mother of cats,” at her small pet food and plant shop in Hadath, in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A cat waits for adoption in a shelter run by Diana Abadi, known as “the mother of cats,” at her small pet food and plant shop in Hadath, in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Diana Abadi, known locally as “the mother of cats,” cleans the ears of felines waiting for adoption at her small pet food and plant shop in Hadath, in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Diana Abadi, known locally as “the mother of cats,” holds a blind feline waiting for adoption at her small pet food and plant shop in Hadath, in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Diana Abadi, known as “the mother of cats,” feeds felines that are up for adoption at her small pet food and plant shop in Hadath, in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
One of many cats sits inside the shelter run by Diana Abadi, known locally as “the mother of cats,” while waiting for adoption at her small pet food and plant shop in Hadath, in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Cats sit in a shelter run by Diana Abadi, known as “the mother of cats,” at her small pet food and plant shop where they wait for adoption in Hadath, in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A cat waits for adoption at a shelter run by Diana Abadi, known as “the mother of cats,” at her small pet food and plant shop in Hadath, in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Diana Abadi, known as “the mother of cats,” tends her plant and pet food shop where she fosters cats up for adoption in Hadath, in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A cat waits for adoption in a shelter run by Diana Abadi, known locally as “the mother of cats,” at her small pet food and plant shop in Hadath, in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, in Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
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