A guide to finding homes for strays in Tel Aviv
Unlike many cities in America, street cats are found everywhere in Israel. Every corner you turn you are likely to find a street cat. Some of the strays are in excellent condition, getting well taken care of by the locals or by organizations like Hapishpesh in Jaffa. Others, are not being taken care of as well, and have to work really hard to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, the world is a tough place, and things always happen when these street animals are put in danger. For this reason, I’ve decided to write a guide to help you know what you should do when you see a stray cat or dog in critical condition.
Veterinary Hospital Babikar
Vets taking care of a dog at Veterinary Bakikar
In continuation of my article on Hapishpesh and the AEA Bethlehem Shelter, I’d like to introduce another clinic that helps take care of stray pets in Tel Aviv. Veterinary Babikar, located on 157 Yigal Alon Street, Tel Aviv works long and hard to support the street cats that are brought in. Open 24/7, Veterinary Babikar always has staff on call to ensure the people that their pets have an inlet to receive care. I spoke with Dr. Shuki Karako, a fourth-year veterinary practitioner at Veterinary Bakikar in Tel Aviv.
He grew up in Tel Aviv but spent time studying veterinary medicine in Italy. Dr. Shuki always makes sure that the street cats that are brought into him are being taken care of. The clinic is a chain business, but the location in Tel Aviv is old and historic. Dr. Shuki and the rest of the vets work with clients that bring in stray cats for castration and treatment. Dr. Shuki told me that he is trusted in the area and that people come to him when they find strays that are in need of help.
While people are good about bringing in sick/injured, they commonly don’t stay for them. Dr. Shuki said people just bring them in and leave them, expecting the vet to take care of them. However, he can’t do much for them after and they often just send the stray back to where they were found after receiving treatment. There are some people that will decide to adopt them afterward, but this is a common struggle that the vet clinic has to deal with.
SOS Pets Israel
Stray cats in Jaffa
SOS Pets Israel is a nonprofit organization that also works to help save and take care of stray pets. As part of their code of conduct, they believe that caring for homeless dogs and cats is essential to humanity as pets provide a great deal of nurture to our lives. Therefore SOS Pets strives on giving back to pets by ensuring they are well taken care of and being protected. SOS Pets has three distinct units: a dog unit, a cat unit, and an educational unit.
The dog unit, which is their oldest unit works to improve the lives of stray dogs by providing rehabilitation against euthanization. They take dogs out of kill shelters and work on their own to rehabilitate the dogs into loving homes. The cat unit specializes in providing castration procedures since the population of stray cats in Israel is so large. They also work to provide medical attention to injured and sick street cats in order to better their lives and find them new homes. Lastly, their educational unit prides to raise awareness of animal cruelty. They work alongside the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Environment to teach young children and youth organizations to inspire compassion for animals at a young age. SOS Pets is also looking for donations and volunteers to continue with their good work.
Let the Animals Live
Let the Animals Live is a nonprofit organization that works to provide care and protection to animals in need of rehabilitation. Located in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, the NGO strives to promote animal rights and welfare by expanding and enforcing the Animals Welfare Act.
In addition, the organization is strictly no-kill, therefore they ensure that each and every animal that is brought in will have the best chance of being adopted. They do numerous things for stray animals, including providing training, veterinary attention, sheltering, and transportation for rescues. Professional veterinary practitioners will spay and neuter animals at Let Live. They also have a legal department, the only of its kind in Israel, which handles any kind of protection of the animals’ rights. As a consequence of the Animal Welfare Act, the legal department handles many filed complaints of abuse and harassment that their animals have undergone.
The Municipality of Tel Aviv
The Municipality of Tel Aviv vets will take care of stray dogs and cats, which, according to Dr. Shuki, does a good job and he hears mostly good stories. The Municipality helps stray and domestic animals in Tel Aviv live a better life and away from trouble. They partner with many agencies (including Let the Animals Live and SOS Pets Israel) to ensure that all dogs and cats are kept in good hands.
They help endangered and suffering animals get rescued and put into shelters, act against rabies, and provide access to vaccines for pet owners. They also initiated a project called Adopt an Animal in which they encourage adoptions of sheltered animals via special adoption days for every Friday of each month. You can find out more information on the municipality on their website as well as who to contact. You can read more about adoption days here.
SPCA Israel
SPCA Israel– or the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, based in Jaffa. The Society takes in abandoned animals and tries to find adopting homes for them. Additionally, it provides various services to the community: a veterinary clinic with subsidized prices, a boarding facility for pets, rescue and collection of animals in trouble and a department of education and guidance. This is a great place to find and rehome a pet in need.
Author: Danielle Meyers
Danielle Meyers is an Environmental Science major at the University of Massachusetts Amherst interested in environmental law and policy. She took an interest in studying the environment once she learned about the worsening effects of climate change. Danielle enjoys going on adventures, the beach, shopping, and seeing friends and family. She is reporting from Tel Aviv in the Summer of 2023 to to learn, discover, and inspire change in the community and throughout the Middle East.
