The story of the Egyptian cat Sinbad, which found himself in England after getting locked up in a shipping container for 16 days, sparked a flood of comments on social media.
The dehydrated, starving Sinbad is now quarantined by The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) – a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare.
Online appeals for raising GBP 2k for Sindbad’s 4-month stay generated 80% more donations reaching GBP 3.6k. It costs RSPCA around GBP17 for one day of quarantine, covering vet bills, microchipping, rabies vaccination, food and care. Surplus funds are used for rescuing other cats.
Sinbad Trip
The appeal webpage for raising donations to Sinbad
The story was quickly picked up by UK top online news publishers like the dailymail, The Telegraph, mirror, also it was picked up by Egyptian online news such as ShoroukNews, Watan, Fajr and more…
UK Comments
Comments on the fundraising site for Sindbad’s quarantine costs showed a lot of sympathy and support. Donors expressed admiration, wishing the cat good luck and some even offered a home.
Egypt Comments
Egyptian comments on social media were full of sarcasm:
- “Even the cat left the country”
- “This is my cat, please take me to him”
- “I’m the owner of the cat and I’m asking Sindbad to return back home and bring the money with him…”
- “My father will rent my room if I die”
Update: a photoshop-ed passport for the cat has filled twitter and Facebook timelines:
Sinbad Passport