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Two refugees from Puerto Rico recently arrived in Rockbridge County. They are looking for a place to call their own. They will need a caretaker to supply them lots of love, head rubs and a lap to cuddle in.
The two asylum seekers are named Mario and Star and they are of the feline persuasion, two of many stray cats on the Caribbean island.
Bath County resident Jamal Sultan accompanied the two cats, along with his dog, Grippaw, on their journey to the States. Sultan has a home in the town of Naguabo that he has been fixing up and living in. He has lived in Puerto Rico off and on for six years, first arriving on the island before Hurricane Maria struck in Sept. 2017.
Naguabo is a town on the East side of the island notorious for being a dumping ground for both cats and dogs. Jamal is an animal lover and had found Grippaw – one of a litter of four puppies – in a cardboard box in an abandoned home following Hurricane Maria.
While in the little beach community of Mario, Sultan happened upon an orange cream tabby who had made a home under a cactus bush next to a busy highway. His shelter kept him relatively safe from the roaming back of beach dogs, but between the dogs and the speeding cars, the cat’s chances of survival were slim to none.
Sultan took the emaciated cat to Walmart and bought him some litter and food. He was told that he couldn’t bring the cat into the store, but when he explained the cat’s situation, both Sultan and his feline companion were allowed in.
Sultan brought the cat home and he quickly acclimated to his new foster family. Sultan named him Mario after the town in which he was found.
About a year later, Sultan was walking Grippaw in the town center. Near a marketplace there was a Dumpster where a cluster of feral cats had set up home. He was careful not to spook the cats with his dog.
“By the market was an abandoned building where I heard a little meow,” he said. He found a black and white tuxedo kitten hiding under debris in the alley beside the building. Though the cat was terrified of Grippaw, Sultan was eventually able to coax him out.
Sultan first took the cat to a friend who fostered cats, but he couldn’t take the cat in. So Sultan took the cat home. It didn’t take long for him to adjust to his new living conditions. Though his first meeting with Grippaw had been harrowing for him, the cat grew accustomed to the brindled Sata (a name given to the mixed breed dogs found all over the island) and formed a close bond with Mario. Sultan named the new cat Star Child or Star for short.
This is the point in the story where there should be a happily ever after, but unfortunately this is real life and not a fairy tale.
During the pandemic, Sultan kept himself financially afloat by selling his artwork online and taking the odd construction job here and there.
“There are all kinds of documents required for getting a job in Puerto Rico,” Sultan said.
He got a job conducting kayaking tours that was lucrative for a while, until Hurricane Fiona hit in 2022.
Though the eastern part of the island did not suffer the damage that other parts of the U.S. territory experienced, Puerto Rico suffered an economic downtown and suddenly job opportunities were even more scarce than ever.
To improve his prospects for employment, Sultan decided it was time for him to head home to Bath County to make some money. But his mother is allergic to cats so he could not bring them to live with him in her house.
Puerto Rico has a few nokill shelters, but they are backed up and most of them have a two-year waiting list.
Sultan found an older man living on $5 a day who kept 30 cats on his property and he was willing to let Mario and Star live with him. But given the conditions there, Sultan knew that Mario and Star would probably end up back on the streets and he couldn’t bear that thought.
He searched for months for a place for Mario and Star on the island and in the States. Finally a friend of his who works for the Well Pet group put him in touch with Mary Huffman who runs the nonprofit cat rescue service Furever Friends Lodge in Buena Vista. Huffman agreed to house the two cats in her shelter until they find a permanent home.
Earlier this month, Sultan flew first class from Luis Munoz International airport with Mario, Star and Grippaw in tow. They landed on Friday the 13th at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
Now Mario and Star are looking for a forever home here. Since they are so close to one another, the hope is that they will be adopted together. While they are awaiting the right someone to adopt them, Sultan is free to visit when he’s in town.
“I was missing them even before I got on the plane,” he said.
To learn more about Mario and Star or Furever Friends Lodge, send email to fureverfriends2020@ gmail.com.
