CAIRO: After an estimated five years of “entrapment” behind a
wall in a Cairo Metro station, a cat was saved from its “tomb” and
brought into the daylight, thanks to an elderly man who fed it
every day all those years and a group of women who pressured to set
it free.
The cat’s tail hanging from a small opening in the wall
– Help and Rescue Homeless Animals Facebook page
Sometime in 2010, the cat found a hiding spot between the outer
surface of the wall and a fire extinguisher installment at the
Mohamed Naguib Metro station in downtown Cairo. One day, however,
the cat squeezed into a hole in the wall and did not come out
again, the cat’s caregiver, known as Uncle Abdo, told Veto Gate
Friday. Uncle Abdo, the owner of a glasses shop right outside the
station, named the cat Biso.
Uncle Abdo used to provide water to Biso in the top part
of a plastic bottle – Mounira Shehata Facebook page
“When we removed the wall, a heinous smell emerged from the dark
hole, which was 15-centimeter wide and four-meter long. It was like
a tomb. There were black worms along four meters of the edge, where
Uncle Abdo was able to put in food for Biso,” Mounira Shehata, an
animal rights activist who participated in the rescue, told The
Cairo Post Tuesday.
Biso taking food from Uncle Abdo – Screenshot from
Vetogate video
On March 12, someone posted a picture of Biso's tail
hanging from behind the wall on “Help and rescue homeless
animals” Facebook page, complaining that he could not break the
wall to free the cat because it would be considered sabotage of
public property.
Another person shared the picture on the “Save an Innocent
Animal’s Soul” page on Facebook; that is how Shehata found out
about Biso and took off with Marwa Elgebaly, a fellow animal rights
activist, to save the cat. Their friend Rania el-Kordy, who shares
the same interests, followed them on the day of the rescue.
Veto Gate released a video the same day of someone feeding
luncheon to Biso behind the wall, in which the cat’s paw appears
trying to grasp the meat, and a similar one the next day of Uncle
Abdo.
Shehata and Elgebaly spoke to employees at the metro station in
the evening of March 12, but they were told they needed to come
March 14 when the maintenance official would be present,
as the 13th was a Friday and is part of the weekend.
Nevertheless, Dina Zulfikar, a renowned and accredited animal
rights worker who knew about Biso from social media, filed a report
at the Abdeen police station March 13, along with animal rights
defender Dalia Shaheen. The police and civil defense personnel
arrived at the metro and informed the head of Mohamed Naguib metro
station there was a prosecution order to rescue Biso. The workers
were brought from their homes on their day off.
Workers created three outlets for the cat to come out on
its own – Hany Sobhy on Help and rescue homeless animals Facebook
page
Uncle Abdo told Masr al-Arabia he used to feed the cat when it
was free as a kitten. Biso hid between the outer surface of the
wall and a fire extinguisher installment, but after a “stronger
cat” beat Biso, it escaped into the hole and never came out, Uncle
Abdo said. A few years ago, workers at the station tried to get
Biso out, but it was scared off and remained inside, he added.
Rescuers trying to tempt Biso, seen with glowing eyes in
the dark, with a can of tuna – Marwa Elgebaly Facebook
page
“I do it for God. What is for God does not go away,” Uncle Abdo
told Masr al-Arabia, adding that “God rids” him a lot of problems
because of such charity.
Dina Zulfikar with Uncle Abdo– Zulfikar Facebook page
Amid lawlessness during the January 25 Revolution in 2011, most
stores were closed, including Uncle Abdo’s. He still went to the
station daily to feed Biso, he told Masrawy.
Dina Zulfikar explaining the situation to officers –
Mounira Shehata Facebook page
Terrified, Biso only came out after Amr, a worker at the
station, went inside the hole to get it.
Amr after getting out of the hole – Mounira Shehata
Facebook page
Biso, however, swiftly ran away before anyone could catch it.
The rescue took over five hours, according to Shehata. She and
Uncle Abdo are still looking for Biso inside the metro station.
Left to right: Mounira Shehata, Rania el-Kordy, Marwa
Elgebaly, Amr, and a metro worker pose for a picture – Taghrid
el-Sherif Facebook page
Coincidently, Mohamed Naguib metro station is named after
Egypt’s first President, known as an avid animal lover