With so many of his human friends leaving the war torn city, cat-lover Mohammad Alaa Jaleel says the felines are his newfound friends

Abandoned and stray cats in Aleppo, Syria, have found a friend in Mohammad Alaa Jaleel.

The ‘cat man,’ as the BBC is calling him, cares for more than a hundred felines without homes in the city destroyed by civil war. In a video shot by the BBC, the animal lover says his cat sanctuary will “protect” any cat that needs it.

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The sanctuary began with about 30 cats, but a year later that number expanded to more than a hundred. “Some people just left them with me knowing that I love cats,” he said.

Other stories of pets left behind are much more heartbreaking.

“One time a little girl brought me a cat. Her parents wanted to go abroad. So they came here — they knew there was a cat sanctuary here. The girl had brought the cat up since she was a kitten,” he said. “She cried as she handed her over to me and they left the country. I’ve been taking photos of the cat and sending them to her in Turkey. She begs me, ‘Send me photos of her. I miss her. Please promise to return my cat back to me when we come back.’ ”

With so many of his human friends leaving the war torn city, Alaa Jaleel told the BBC the kitties are his newfound friends.