A little about Bun Ra, our Persian cat rescued from the streets of Egypt: 

On June 20th, 2016 the solstice and the full moon fell on the same day. That evening a very skinny, scared but hauntingly beautiful little kitty named Salma was dropped off at our New York City apartment. The week before, after searching "persian" on Petfinder, we had come across her picture - a vision of kitty perfection. Enticed by her beauty, we ignored the gentle warning that she had "issues" and after a brief meeting in New Jersey, went ahead with the adoption. 

It wasn't until later that we learned she had been dumped on the doorstep of a known animal advocate in Cairo, along with 2 other kitties, one of which later died. Her origin was unknown but it's common for persians to be bred as high-end luxury items for pet stores, and then discarded in the streets if not sold as kittens. Feral cats are often poisoned or live scavenging from the garbage. Before meeting Bunny we had no idea about the animal welfare situation in Egypt but there are people and organizations trying their best to rescue both dogs and cats and send them on to better lives. 

We don't know what Salma's first year of life was like, but we do know she was dumped on the right person's doorstep, taken to a rescue in Cairo where she was cared for and stayed for several months before being put on a 24 hour flight to JFK. She was then taken to another rescue in New Jersey, an apartment with 12 cats, where she stayed until our paths crossed. 

Skinny little Salma did have issues and for good reason. But there were kind people along the way who helped her and somehow she arrived, with her kitty passport and carrier, on our doorstep in Manhattan, under the full moon a year ago. We changed her name to Bun Ra, (after the great jazz musician, Sun RA), and made sure she had lots of food and as much love as she would tolerate. Now, a year later, she's a fluffy, sassy little muse who hardly ever bites our ankles anymore. We love having her around and want to do what we can to help her friends and family get to safe and loving homes too, wherever they may be. 

100% of the profit from this painting will go to the Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals (ESMA) which is supported by Animal Diplomacy, a US 501c3 organization. Animal Diplomacy's goal is to support the work of animal welfare and advocacy organizations in the developing world, and the Middle East in particular, through financial and capacity-building assistance. They also aim to raise international awareness of animal welfare issues in these countries. This mission is based on the conviction that we can build bridges across cultures through the common cause of animal welfare. 

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