Earlier this year, Best Friends Animal Society, working with Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, rescued 300 cats and dogs from war-ravaged Lebanon and airlifted them to their sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. Now, 16 of those rescued cats have gone to new permanent homes, and Juliette Watt personally delivered them in her own small plane.
The cats left Utah Sunday, Nov. 26, comfortably settled in 16 individual cat carriers onboard Watt’s plane, with Best Friends’ staffer Pamela Crook assisting Watt. The flight made stops in Chicago, Ill.; Cleveland, Ohio; Rochester, N.Y.; Nashua, N.H.; Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.; Baltimore, Md.; and Richmond, Va. Watt said the cats were good travelers, though they meowed in protest whenever the plane encountered turbulence.
The lucky Lebanese cats included four black cats adopted by Mary Layton in New Hampshire, three feral cats adopted by Karen Zannella in Ohio, and Naggy the cat, adopted by a family in Richmond. Sugar the cat was adopted by a man in the Chicago area.
For more information about the cats’ journey across the country, or to learn more about the animals rescued from Lebanon, visit the Best Friends Animal Society website.