This Family Lost Everything — But Refused To Leave Their Cat Behind

"He is a part of the family. We could never give him up."

Ever since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, over 400,000 people have lost their lives - and 11 million men, women and children have fled the country to save themselves.

One such family walked, like so many others, hundreds of miles across Turkey. And that family, like some others, included their cat.

The little kitten's life had started in the middle of the fighting. His mother was killed by a bomb soon after he was born.

International Rescue Committee

Luckily, the kitten was pulled from the ruins of a bomb-ravaged house in Damascus by a family who would love him forever.

The family named him Tabboush, which means "chubby" in Arabic.

When the family realized they had to flee their home, they walked hundreds of miles to get to Idomeni, Greece. They, of course, brought Tabboush with them.

International Rescue Committee

At the migrant camp, Tabboush brought joy to the other families and children, living in tents, whose lives were in limbo.

"He eats with us, drinks with us, sleeps with us and wakes up with us," the family toldInternational Rescue Committee (IRC), an organization that met them when they were stranded in a migrant camp on the Greek border last spring.

International Rescue Committee

"He is my life," one of the young girls in the family said. "I couldn't live without Tabboush."

International Rescue Committee

Ever since that meeting, humanitarian workers have been trying to locate the family, to make sure they got to a safe place they could call home again - but due to the sheer numbers of families in need, this family hasn't yet been found.

"He is a part of the family," the family said back in April. "We could never give him up."