54-year old Hussein Mohammad from Mombasa quit his fishing job that was payable in 1990s and stated taking care of cats.
Mohammad currently has 150 cats and is used to being called Baba Paka by friends and relatives.
What angers him is his cats being associated with witchcraft even though he is used to being accused of keeping demons.
According to The Star newspaper, Mohammad together with his siblings have about 300 cats which are scattered in Fort Jesus, Barsheba, Stage ya Paka and Mlaleo.
The cat lover said that he started keeping cats in 1978 after his father, Ahmed Mohammed, bought him two kittens.
“I remember one day my father came from Nairobi and brought me a gift. Inside the box were two kittens. This is when my love for cats started,” he recalls.
Hussein said that he did not know the love he had for the two kittens would grow and make him start rescuing stray cats and provide them with care.
Mombasa is known to be a home of so many stray cats and dogs and it very difficult to establish their exact number.
According to the Mombasa County Director of Veterinary Services Dr. Musembi Kioko, the number of these stray animals is rising because the pet owners have neglected them.
He said that most people are unable to give the animals proper care.
“My experience with Old Town people and Mvita at large is that they love cats and keep them in large numbers. However, it becomes an issue to feed and give them proper medication. That’s why we have so many roaming around the streets,” Kioko said.
He further noted that a large number of cats can be a health hazard to both human beings and the animals.
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