How Dubai Talabat rider feeds over 70 cats in Al Quoz with a caretaker continuing night rounds

Kaleem Gul’s workday looks a little different from most. By day, he works across Dubai as a Talabat delivery rider; by evening, he returns to a different responsibility, caring for more than 70 stray cats near his home in the Al Quoz Industrial Area.

It is a routine that doesn't stop. The cats depend on him for food, attention, and, when things go wrong, urgent help. Injuries, illness, disappearances, he responds as best as he can, often turning to volunteer WhatsApp groups for assistance when cases become too difficult to manage alone.

A little shy at first, he shares his story in snatches: “I’ve been in Dubai since 2018. Over time, he noticed a growing number of abandoned cats in the area, some wandering between warehouses and construction sites, others struggling to find food. “There were so many stray cats just roaming around, trying to survive,” he says.

Gul connected with animal rescue volunteers across the UAE through WhatsApp networks and began reaching out for help whenever needed. He also set up a Facebook group to request food donations for the cats, building a small but steady support system around them. “I also created a Facebook group so people could donate food,” he says.

That network has been supported by Amal CSR, a DED-registered initiative that links corporate social responsibility efforts with causes such as animal welfare and environmental sustainability. With their help, food donations are organised and, when possible, medical intervention is arranged, with the volunteers footing the bill.

An entire ecosystem of stray cats

Sylvia Chandel, an animal rescuer with nearly two decades of experience and a member of multiple rescue networks, recalls first coming across Gul’s messages in these groups, alongside support from fellow volunteers Crystal Borhade, Rupsa Mukerjee, Rakhi Choudhary and Emma Smith. “He sends photos of the cats and updates on their condition,” she says. “We try to respond with food, and when needed, we coordinate vet visits or sterilisation.”

She describes Al Quoz as hosting a complex, often invisible stray cat ecosystem. “There’s an entire population of cats in these industrial pockets,” she explains. They try to intervene where they can, especially through TNR.

Trap-neuter-return (TNR), she adds, remains the most widely accepted humane method to manage stray cat populations in Dubai, preventing uncontrolled breeding while allowing animals to remain in their environment.

The night shift of care

Gul is one of several individuals working quietly in the area. In another part of Al Quoz, Fathima, a homemaker, begins her second shift after her household duties end in the evening. By 6pm, she is already on the streets, moving between buildings and community spaces, feeding and checking on stray cats. As she says, there are more than 100 around that she has seen.

“I've been doing this for so long. There are so many, between the buildings and near the community centre,” she says. Her work continues deep into the night. “I do this till 3am, sometimes till 6am.”

She describes frequent cases of abandonment, with cats left behind without warning. Like Gul, she relies on volunteer networks to seek medical help and coordinate TNR efforts whenever possible.

To support these initiatives and help these cats find homes, please contact Amal CSR.