About Us
The Situation in Egypt: A Crisis Hidden in Plain Sight
the land of pharaohs, pyramids, and ancient gods. A place admired by millions for its timeless beauty and legendary history. But just beyond the tourists’ photos and the glow of monuments, there is another Egypt — one you will never see on postcards.
An Egypt where suffering walks on four legs.
Zee Animal Shelter, in the Heart of Giza, Egypt
Forgotten Lives in the Shadows of the Pyramids
Giza… A name that evokes wonder. A place tied to one of the greatest civilizations in human history. Visitors from all over the world dream of walking its ancient paths, gazing at the towering pyramids that rise silently from the desert—unchanged, eternal. But just beneath that postcard image, buried in the noise and chaos of Cairo’s daily life, there’s a tragedy unfolding that few ever see… and even fewer care to.
On every corner, in every alley, under every parked car… there are cats. Sick, starving, wounded, dying. Egypt’s stray cat population has exploded into a full-blown crisis—one that the authorities have turned their backs on. No programs. No mass sterilizations. No compassion. Only poison. Only indifference. Only silence.
In the heart of Cairo, it’s not uncommon to see a cat collapse on the sidewalk and die before your eyes—while people walk past without even a glance. To many, they are pests. To others, invisible. Their tiny bodies try to survive on scraps, filth, and luck. Their eyes, once bright, now dull and defeated. Some are crushed by traffic, others slowly consumed by parasites, infections, and hunger. Many more are deliberately poisoned. It is not an isolated event—it is a daily routine. This is the reality in Egypt.
We Refuse to Look Away...
Unlike in many countries, where stray animals hide during the day and emerge at night, in Egypt they are everywhere. All hours. All places. And not because they are fearless — but because they are desperate. Desperate for a crumb of bread. For a drop of water. For someone to see them. To care.
And most of the time, no one does.
People walk past a dying animal like it’s a broken piece of trash. A sick cat might collapse on the pavement and take its last breath under the feet of a crowd that doesn’t flinch. The lucky ones die fast. The rest suffer. Slowly. Silently.
It’s not unusual to find dozens of cats in one street, some already dead, others too weak to move, dragging themselves along with sunken eyes and infected wounds. Many of them are babies. Born into pain. Dying before they even know comfort or kindness.
The worst part? This is normal.
This is Egypt — for them.
In the middle of chaos, there is still hope...
Who Are We?
At Zee Animal Shelter, we refuse to look away. Founded in the midst of this crisis, our shelter provides refuge for the unwanted, the sick, the dying. We fight every day to treat the wounded, feed the starving, sterilize as many as we can, and give dignity to lives the world has chosen to ignore. But we cannot do this alone.
At the beginning of 2018 the founder Zeina Emparez started the shelter with the aim to provide the very needed help to hundreds of cats in the district of Giza. Zeina started this project in a small apartment where she rescued and nursed back to health more than 1200 cats.
What started as a small project has grown with the help of sponsors, donors and volunteers in Egypt and in many other countries. Thanks to this, Zee Shelter has been able to find a forever home to more than 800 cats in the past 5 years. In 2019 the efforts made it necessary to look for a bigger, safer place where all cats get the needed food, rest and medical attention, so that they can recover and be prepared for adoption.
All this would not have been possible without the collaboration of the kind souls of our volunteers, donors and sponsors. Thank you a lot for helping us to make it possible for a better life for our cats in Egypt.
Our Mission
To rescue abandoned, mistreated and sick cats and even some dogs, from the streets of Giza, nurse them back to health and care for them until they find their forever home.
Zee Animal Shelter in Action
The Zee Animal Shelter Founder
Hello, my name is Zeina...
I have been rescuing cats for more than 11 years. I first started as a volunteer in an established cat shelter but it did not have a good reputation. When I left there, around 7 years ago, I rescued my first cat called Harty in Alexandria state and continued to rescue more. With help and encouragement from others I was able to rehome 7 disabled cats from the bad rescue.
My mum loves cats and when I was growing up my family would feed the stray cats in our building which was the foundation of my aspirations to save and rescue injured and abandoned cats from the streets. I opened my own shelter in 2018 and now look after approximately 200 cats and 10 dogs. It is very rewarding to see our rescued cats flying off to different countries to live in their forever homes.
What Do We Do?
1. We rescue cats from the street
We strive to help homeless cats in the Giza area. There are hundreds of thousands of cats in Egypt and the situation now is even more desperate than years ago. Cats are suffering unseen and unimaginably. Without rescue they will die from starvation, illness, injury or human cruelty.
2. We help cats to recover their health
Our shelter have spaces for the kitties to be comfortable in complete safety. Further, there are designated spaces for mothers and nursing kittens, weaning kittens, cats awaiting spay/neuter surgeries, recovery space for post-surgeries, and new arrivals yet to be vaccinated.
3. We look for their
fur-ever homes
ZEE SHELTER is completely dedicated to the rescue, care, preparation, sponsorship, adoption, home checks, travel and fundraising for all of our rescued cats and kittens. We can help people from UK, USA, Canada, Germany and other countries adopt their Egyptian angel.
But Wait...
We want to recognize and give thanks to all of our volunteers, in the shelter and all around the world, who even in the distance are working for our beloved animals. Also a big thank you to all our sponsors. Without you Zee Animal Shelter wouldn’t exist. Thank you very much for being so human and for helping Zee to make the world a better place.
You Can Help Zee Animal Shelter
Become a
FoZee
If it is complicated for you to adopt a cat right now but you are really striving to help, become a sponsor of one of our many cats. You can easily support the food and care for a month. Please check our different options here and become a FRIEND OF ZEE! (FoZee).
Become a
Donor
By becoming a Donor you really help Zee Shelter in the mission of getting an Egyptian cat a forever home. Your donation helps to cover the shelter expenses, rescue, feeding and the preperation of cats to be adopted. The more you help us, the more cats we can rescue and help!
Adopt an Egyptian Cat
Are you ready to open your heart and your home an Egyptian angel? Please check out our lovely cats in adoption… we are sure you will find you perfect match!
