25 Cats from Qatar Review

25 Cats from Qatar Movie Specs

• Film directed by Mye Hoang.
• Production company: Gray Hat Productions.
• Film running time: 95 minutes.
• Language: English.
• Film not rated.
• Film website: https://www.25catsfromqatar.com/.
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/25catsfromqatar.
• Instagram: @25catsfromqatar.
• TikTok: @25catsqatar.

25 Cats from Qatar Synopsis

Qatar’s street cat population equals the country’s human population. Qatar’s street cats struggle daily to survive extreme heat, disease, and traffic. Sadly, with virtually no government support, a small group of volunteers are left trying to care for, vaccinate, and spay/neuter the country’s street cats.

Umair Khan is one such volunteer. He’s a construction manager from Pakistan who has set up a makeshift shelter in his workplace where he secretly harbors 50 cats. He spends his nights feeding, caring for, and vaccinating cats in Doha, Qatar’s capital city. With Doha’s mostly transient population, Umair and his fellow rescuers have an incredibly difficult time finding local adopters and long-term homes for the cats who need them.

Meanwhile, 7,000 miles away, Katy McHugh, flight attendant and owner of the Sip & Purr Cat Cafe in Milwaukee, Wisconsin learns about the street cat crisis in Doha through social media. In order to help, Katy forms an unsanctioned plan with Umair and his fellow rescuers to fly 25 cats to Wisconsin from Doha so that they can find loving forever homes. 25 Cats from Qatar chronicles her journey to rescue some very lucky cats.

Katy only has four days to meet with the rescuers and choose which cats she’ll fly back to the United States. Katy must make difficult and heartbreaking choices along the way.

In addition to Umair, Katy meets and works with other rescuers in Doha, including Lana Malkawi, a tech worker from Jordan who rehabilitates and cares for 300 disabled and unwanted cats in a four-story mansion called the “cat castle.”

Other rescuers include Ashok and VJ (Vijaya) Girish, a married couple from India who are office workers by day, feeding cats in several colonies at night, Valerie Moaks, a makeup artist from Singapore who feeds a colony of cats near her home, Monira Mollazehi, a nurse from Iran who spends her free time helping Lana care for the hundreds of cats residing in the “cat castle,” and Lenny Dejacto, a woman from the Philippines who rescues cats and dogs in her Doha apartment, often rehoming them in her native country. The film also features Zaman, a long-time taxi driver who drives Katy around the city and unwittingly becomes part of Katy’s rescue mission.

Katy must race against time to get all the cats cleared by a veterinarian and customs to fly. All the while, she must evade authorities who frown upon the type of work she’s doing.

My Thoughts on 25 Cats from Qatar

Wow! What an incredible journey this was!

As many of you know, my cat, Tylan, who passed away in May, was rescued by a local rescue from Bangkok, Thailand. You can read his rescue story here. This film helped me understand just what his rescue had to go through in order to bring him, along with two other Siamese, to the United States.

Katy’s journey depicts the numerous challenges present in International rescuing and the heartbreak that occurs when things don’t go according to plan.

Katy’s passion for helping cats—local and International—is evident in this film. My heart broke along with hers as she had to select the cats to fly to the United States. She knew she needed to find social cats who are not easily distressed by chaos. The cats also needed to be healthy enough to fly.

So many of the cats Katy helps have inspiring stories of survival. My favorite featured cat was Dr. Garfield (many of you know how much I adore the orange ones!). Katy offers the 25th flight slot to a veterinarian who selects Dr. Garfield to come to the United States. Nobody knows Dr. Garfield’s backstory. All they know is that he was abandoned at the vet several months prior and that he’s quite friendly to people.

Goose is a dark gray Persian with a bad eye infection Katy finds while shopping in Souq Waqi. Seeing as Persians are an expensive breed, it’s likely that Goose was abandoned. He has no survival skills to care for himself. He loves the attention and affection Katy gives him. While she has already chosen 25 cats to fly to the United States, the airline allows Katy to bring two more at the last minute. So Goose finds himself on the flight!

Manu, another cat featured in the film, was rescued from the streets by married couple Ashok and VJ Girish. Manu is FIV+ and missing a foot. His friendliness towards people makes him a good choice for the cat cafe.

Marley, a cat residing in the “cat castle,” was rescued from a cruel situation—he was caught and lived inside a cat carrier for an entire year. He developed a terrible leg infection, and the maggots feeding off his wound actually saved his life. Once he was rescued, his bad leg was able to be removed safely. While tripods are overlooked in Doha, they are well-loved in the United States.

I absolutely love that Katy chose several “special needs” kitties to fly to the United States to find forever homes. Having taken care of several special needs cats, I know firsthand how sweet and grateful these kitties are to be loved and cared for the way they deserve.

I found this film to be incredibly inspiring. Most of us can’t go and rescue International cats and put them up for adoption at a cat cafe the way Katy does, but we can all do things to help cats in need. Giving financial, food, toy, blanket, and other donations to rescues and shelters is one great way to help cats in need, but not everyone is able to give financialy, especially in these tough economical times. If that’s the case for you, consider doing something to help cats that doesn’t cost you anything—volunteer at a local shelter, foster cats for a local rescue (the rescue usually pays for all the cat’s expenses while they’re in foster care), or simply share posts of adoptable cats from shelters and rescues on your social media channels.

I believe anyone who loves cats will enjoy this movie. While this film is not rated, it is recommended for children age 14 years and older as it contains some scenes featuring sick cats.

You can see a trailer for 25 Cats from Qatar here.

How Can You See 25 Cats from Qatar?

Check out the film’s Events page to see where the movie is being shown. You can also sign up for the email list and receive updates when new screening times and locations are added.

Residents of the United States can also pre-order 25 Cats from Qatar on DVD and Blu-ray.

Sierra M. Koester is an awar-dwinning freelance writer and professional blogger. She is responsible for the compilation of Purrseverance: Inspiring Stories of Cat Resilience and Hope. Sierra is the Content Manager for The Cat Blogosphere, a community for all pets and their people. She shares her own experiences with her cats in her blog, Fur Everywhere. In her free time, Sierra enjoys spending time with her cats, Giovanni and Gabriel, and reading.