Once fearful kitty abandoned in the Saudi desert becomes London apartment princess when music festival worker adopts her and buys her a flight home

Briana Viser • Writer and Editor

Jun 24, 2026 2:15 PM EDT

She saved a cat from the desert, and for that she deserves a story.

From Reddit's r/CatDistributionSystem, a woman is working at the Sandstorm Festival. She finds a tiny cat under a cabin in the desert, and the two bond. Before she knows it, she has to go back home to London, but doesn't want to leave the cat behind. She decides to buy her a ticket to London and the two form a great life together. The cat is named Hissy, and she was a bit skittish and difficult to deal with initially. After some time together and trust building, Hissy became the cuddliest cat.

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via u/PlaneGrapefruit2907
“From starving in the Saudi Dessert to being the princess of a London apartment”
I found Hissy (3f) under an office cabin while out in Saudi Arabia for work November-December 2023 (working on Soundstorm Festival). At the time she only came out of hiding at night and was absolutely terrified of everyone and everything, but also starving. I ended up feeding her three times per night for the month I was out there, seeing as the cat colony on site didn’t accept her and constantly attacked her. She also got to warm up inside the cabin during nights. Towards the end of the month, it became clear to me I couldn’t possibly leave her behind.
With the help of friends and family donating, finding a charity in Saudi helping with all paperwork and medical requirements, and about 3-4 months of anxiety she came into her furrever home early February 2024.
Since then we’ve had a long journey: Hissy is diagnosed with severe anxiety, on heavy anxiety meds and behaviorist have confirmed she probably won’t ever come off those meds due to her history. We don’t know much about her history, except that she was completely feral at the time of rescue, and any human interaction she’s had till I found her was bad at best. She was missing part of her lower jaw due to something biting it off in a fight most likely. Her spine is fused from a break.
Besides all of this, she is honestly the cuddliest cat I’ve ever met. While she doesn’t trust being picked up, we have plenty of cuddle sessions on the couch and bed nowadays, her favorite are belly scratches. And for about a month now she’s also allowing my partner to give her those. She’s also just started letting me reach across her body to reach her belly, as well as not running off when I initiate touch on the couch, which all have been incredible breakthroughs.
On paper and internet, Hissy should have been impossible to ever be socialized - a feral cat with only bad human interactions - but I genuinely can’t imagine a more perfect little girl than her, and I’m forever thankful I stumbled upon her that first night on site. I was never a cat person until I met Hissy and now she’s my favorite being on this planet, and to see the trust she has for me after all she’s been through will forever be the greatest honor of my life. ❤️
PlaneGrapefruit2907
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via u/PlaneGrapefruit2907
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via u/PlaneGrapefruit2907