Article updated January 26, 2018, 3:21PM
An elderly man is asking for help to rescue his 18 cats from the Caloocan City Pound, after being forced to give them up in order to keep his home.
Lolo Rex, a 64-year-old man from Caloocan, has issued a plea to pet lovers and animal advocates to help him find new homes for his cats. Cats of Manila, a popular cat lovers community page on Facebook, is helping spread the word by posting a video about the ordeal.
According to Lolo Rex, he has no children of his own and considers his beloved pets as his family, that’s why he would be willing to live in whatever conditions as long as he can be with them.
“If I had a choice at kaya ko, kahit tumira ako sa barung-barong (basta) kasama ko ‘tong mga pusa ko,” he said in the touching video.
But since he is living in his current home free of charge, he has been given a sanction:
“If I can’t get rid of my cats, my landlord will get rid of me,” he said.
Watch the entire video below:
Some people who saw the video were moved to tears by the story, and many have called on organizations like PAWS and Mission Possible to intervene:
Criselle Lesaca, who solely runs Cats of Manila, stated that the story was referred to her by a friend who said they needed help to promote the video. The page, created in 2014, actively helps in finding new homes for cats through social media. It has been recognized as the very first online animal shelter for cats in the Philippines. Cats of Manila has helped a lot of animal advocates, volunteers, and even pet owners by featuring the cats who are living in shelters, need to be rescued, or need donations to pay for medical expenses.
Cats of Manila also started a Facebook group that serves as a platform where members can post pictures of cats they rescued from the streets but can’t keep, so they can find prospective adopters.
“There are a lot of people who have hearts and want to help, but are too afraid because they think nobody will want to adopt the cat,” Criselle said.
“But based on our followers, there are literally thousands of people who want to adopt a cat, and because of the Page, this is how you can find them.”
As of this writing, all 18 cats of Lolo Rex are already at the Caloocan City Pound. Criselle mentioned that she is waiting to hear from a neighbor of Lolo Rex today to find out whether some cats have already been adopted.
Update:
After being overwhelmed by the messages of support and admiration from people online, Lolo Rex, with the help of his neighbors, posted another video. In it, Lolo Rex expressed his gratitude for everyone’s kind messages and also announced that the cats are still waiting to be adopted.
According to Cats of Manila, a volunteer working closely with Lolo Rex has talked to the city veterinarian, Dr. Teodoro M. Rosales, to arrange the adoption process for the cats. Interested adopters need to first go to the city veterinary clinic for screening and payment of fees (P150 for the first day plus P50 for every succeeding day, for a total of P300 per cat) before going to the Camarin pound. Adopters also need to bring a baranggay certificate and a valid I.D.
The city veterinary clinic has agreed to wave further additional fees for the cats until Monday, which means that you can adopt one for P300 until then.
Watch the video below: