Her home is a menagerie of animals of all sizes and shapes. One street cat she rescued has given birth to a litter of six and yet another litter she rescued consists of about four kittens.
Then there are the three 5-month-old siblings lying curled up near her kitchen in a cosy cocoon, purring contentedly. Two large rescued house cats complete the feline story.
"I simply love animals and cannot bear to see them in trouble. Human beings can at least express their pain, but these helpless little things have to undergo so much in silence," says Tami Fowlie, an impassioned Feline Friends volunteer from the UK.
So naturally, when she comes across a distressed animal on one of her walks, she cannot look the other way.
"I simply have to rescue any cat or dog I see in trouble," says Fowlie, who has mastered the art of bottle-feeding baby kittens as young as a day old.
The most touching part is that her two dogs are so used to cats around them that they all coexist happily: about 16 animals, Fowlie and her two kids (Kieran, 7, and Brianna, 10).
Her husband, who lives in Abu Dhabi, eventually gave in to the family's passion for rescuing and fostering animals. Fowlie says bottle-feeding is quite difficult.
The kitten has to be held in one hand with the bottle at a particular angle so that milk doesn't drain into its lungs. In addition, they need to be bottle-fed every two hours for at least their first 10 days of life. Fowlie uses formula milk, which is closest to natural cat milk and available in most supermarkets.
"Looking after kittens is like bringing up a newborn," she says.
"A mother cat usually keeps licking her litter to stimulate them to pee. I have to do that with a wet tissue and see to it that they have been well-fed, have emptied their bladders and bowels - sometimes into my dress and hand - and are cleaned up and settled back into their beds."
Raising animals has been a unique form of education for her kids, who share the animal-rearing responsibilities. Fowlie, who has been in the UAE for 12 years, says her love for animals turned her into a bottle feeder.
"In 1995, when I first came to Abu Dhabi, I really missed animals. I'd grown up with them. I was very depressed and finally offered my place as a foster home for abandoned animals. I came across a tiny kitten in a dustbin. She was virtually a day old and I had no idea what to do with it.
"Usually kittens that are left alone die out of hypothermia. They derive a lot of warmth from their mother's body and being bunched up together. She probably survived because I put a hot water bottle next to her.
"The next issue was feeding her. She looked so small and delicate there was no way I could get her to feed from a saucer. I went to a toy shop and bought a small doll's feeding bottle and fed her cow's milk, because I didn't know any better then.
"She survived that ordeal, but two years later passed away from leukaemia. However, she gave me my first lesson in bottle-feeding. Since then, I have bottle-fed several day-old kittens who were later adopted by loving families."
One of her most memorable experiences was saving the life of Twister, a cheeky tomcat she rescued when he was barely a day old.
"Twister was born with a genetic deformity where his hind legs were twisted and wasting. He walked in a funny way, bending his forelegs. Also, his knees would swell up. Everybody advised me to put him down.
"But I fell in love with his bubbly personality and wonderful adaptive skills. He is so clever and so cheeky and I decided that I would not put him down, only because he was born with wrong legs.
"My vet is the kindest, most gentle human being who absolutely loves animals and between the two of us we made the decision to give Twister a chance with amputation. That was six weeks ago. But the result was stunning.
"Surgery took over two hours and the most beautiful thing was to see Twister immediately adapt to his forelegs and walk on them almost immediately afterwards. Off he went running, climbing the stairs.
"He was in pain, but that did not deter him from having his fun. I'm so glad we did not put him down. I don't think I can ever put Twister up for adoption … he and I have been through a lot," she says.
The family's elder dog, Holly, recently turned into a volunteer too.
"We were playing ball outside our villa when Holly ran to fetch the ball," says Fowlie.
"When she did not appear for a long time I went round the kerb to check out. And what do I see? Holly walking like an important captain with three little kittens, in a single file, marching behind her with their tails up.
"In her doggy language, she might have told them they could be rescued. It seemed like a scene out of a Disney cartoon!"
