I work in a combat zone in Iraq as a military contractor. To make a long story short, this base is closing, and most people (if not everyone) will be leaving soon. I personally will be departing in approximately 3 weeks (early/mid Aug). Myself and some others here want to save a very special little guy and give him a chance at a good life.

Meet the man affectionately known around here as 'Fatboy.' Yes, he does not have a real name yet, but if we're able to save him, he will definitely be getting one! And I will let the donors vote on it. I've personally known him for about a year and a half. He started coming around my room while I was hanging out with my other stray BFF at the time, Frankie. Fatboy would come over to us and meow non-stop, as if to say "Hey, I wanna be a part of this group too!" Frankie obviously didn't want to let him join, and I would try to chase him away to keep the peace. He never took the hint though. He didn't want food, he just wanted to hangout. This continued for a few weeks until one day Frankie disappeared, never to show up again. Now, Frankie was my most loyal friend for about 2 years, so the day she went missing, I knew something was wrong. There is a 99.9% chance she was caught by the Pest Control department, who are always trying to catch all stray cats and dogs. They're not allowed here. Crazy... simply them existing and trying to survive is 'not allowed'. It's also illegal to feed them or "be friendly to them." So, not only do they have the misfortune of being born in a horrible place... a combat zone (he has PTSD btw), which is a landscape of nothing but dirt and rocks, freezing in the winter time and 120 burning hot in the summer... but they're also deemed not worthy to live. Not only do they need to struggle to survive, but they have humans actively attemping to catch them and kill them. And there is no 'humane euthanasia' here.

So, Frankie was gone (Rest in Heaven sweet buddy), and Fatboy had his opportunity to take her place. Nothing could be done about it, and from that point on, we became fast friends. Fatboy was super nice. He's actually the most affectionate cat I've ever known. He must have had human friends before, because unlike Frankie, who was super mean and feral, and took a long time to earn her trust, Fatboy was friendly and trusting right off the bat. He's the neediest guy ever. Requires tons of attention and wants to be petted, held, cuddled constantly. He also never stops yacking, which has caused lots of problems from him being the neighborhood disturbance, and Pest Control was always after him. It's a miracle he's made it this far!

He's not going to have much of a future in this hard place. Not to mention, he's so attached to me, he'd be heartbroken if I disappeared and never came back. Over the years here in Iraq I've been close with numerous other cats. There was Frankie and there were a few before her. But one after another, they all met their end one way or another. But there's still hope to save Fatboy. Any money earned here will go directly to his rescue process. It's estimated to be about $3,000 USD to get him out of this place and back to the States via an international animal rescue organization. There are additional expenses on top of that, but I'm setting a $3k goal. Regardless of how much or how little help I get here, money will not be a factor in whether he's saved or not. But if (due to the complicated logistics of getting him out of this combat zone) we're not able to successfully rescue him, everyone will be refunded. If we are successful, I will keep his journey and story updated here! He also has some medical issues that will need to be addressed, but hopefully it's nothing that can't be resolved with proper treatment at a vet.

If you've read this far, I thank you deeply! Any donation helps, and even BETTER than that are prayers for Fatboy!

God Bless