She had already given birth once, but the kittens were born dead. Spaying her was a high-risk surgery.
But Iraq-born Marwah Ghazi found a way – housing the cat in a pet hotel, covering months of food and care, researching vets, and eventually holding her breath through a surgery everyone warned against.
“I was terrified. I didn’t know anything. I was so new to all this,” the 30-year-old KL-based cinematographer shared with FMT Lifestyle. They told me she wouldn’t survive. Maybe a year … two at most.”
Today, this same cat is six, fat and healthy, living somewhere in Europe with a man who calls her his best friend.
“It’s crazy,” Marwah said. “They told me there was just no way she’d live that long. But cats… when you give them love and attention they need, they always prove you wrong.”
Marwah, who is currently working on a feature documentary film called “17 Days”, is a cat mum herself, all three rescues.
“Two of them – Ollie and Pippin – were rescued in Kuantan when I was in high school there,” Marwah recalled.
“When I moved to KL, I brought them with me and now I have Molly. She is a foster fail, and I couldn’t let her go. So, now I have three babies that I plan to take with me everywhere in the world!”
Funnily enough, it is because of her “three babies” that Marwah started her Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR) efforts in her neighbourhood.
“My cats hate other cats outside!” she admitted, laughing. “They’re very territorial. When other cats pass by, they get very angry and attack each other. That’s redirected aggression. So I wondered, how can I prevent that from happening?”
She dug deep. The answer was clear: neutering. But knowledge alone wasn’t enough. She just didn’t know how to go about it. Then life changed. She got a job. Became financially independent. And for the first time, she could act.
To date, she has rehomed more than 10 cats, and she stressed it wasn’t purely a solo effort – other TNR and rescue groups also assisted her along the way.
“The organisations out there are doing God’s work. I’m just doing very small things,” she said.
When rescue groups are full – which is often – Marwah takes matters into her own hands. Just like Molly, the foster fail who eventually became her furbaby.
“She was the most feral cat ever – so tiny, but she hissed at me every day for six months,” Marwah recounted.
Still, she never gave up. After more than a year, Molly finally began to warm up. But integrating her into a household with Ollie and Pippin was a challenge.
“I actually rehomed her once to a friend, but she didn’t eat for three days,” she said. “I was crying the entire week. I wanted this cat so badly.”
Eventually, Molly came back, and this time, for good. Through scent-swapping, slow introductions, and a lot of patience, the trio finally bonded. “Now they’re just like the three musketeers!”
Marwah’s journey into cat rescue may have started small, but it’s been steady, and transformative. And she hopes to encourage others in doing the same.
“You’re doing your part, but you’re not alone. You’re leaning on your community. At one point, I think we’ll reach a place where we don’t have this issue anymore. It’s a solvable issue.
“We just need all of us to be aware, come together, and not allow the overpopulation of strays,” she said.
For now, she’s doing what she can. Quietly. Consistently. One cat at a time.
Follow Marwah Ghazi on Instagram.